Bute Park Maintenance & Management Plan 2015 - public

PARKS DEPARTMENT – CITY OF CARDIFF COUNCIL

Bute Park Management

Plan 2015-19

Published Feb 2015

Primary point of contact: Julia Sas, Bute Park Manager

[email protected]

Bute Park Management Plan 2015-19

Bute Park Maintenance & Management Plan 2015 - public Page 1 of 155 26 February 2015

Preface (with reference to the Green Flag Key Crite ria) We will maintain Bute Park & Arboretum as a high qu ality visitor destination and flag-ship city park. We will protec t the legacy of the HLF restoration project by embedding sustainable mainte nance & management within available resources. We will deve lop opportunities and partnerships to achieve our potential. The Council’s vision statement for Bute Park encapsulates the holistic approach that has been taken in preparing this five year management plan for the park. The management plan takes a systematic approach to dealing with all of the elements that make up the park, beginning with descriptions of the site and a full consideration of the context of the site. The vision statement, aims and objectives for the site direct the management approach and form the central part of the plan, followed by detailed information on all the elements of the park: staffing and management; park infrastructure (structures and hard landscape); park environment (soft landscape and nature conservation); physical and intellectual access; people and partners; information (communication, marketing and interpretation) and delivery. This is complemented by an Action Plan, structured to reflect the aims and objectives set within the Management Plan. The eight Green Flag criteria underpin the management aims and objectives and the issues arising from these are addressed within the plan itself as follows:

1. A welcoming place Site access (Section 8.1 ), orientation (Section 8.2 ) and interpretive materials (Section 10.5 ) are all considered to improve public awareness and understanding of the site. The Action plan sets out a number of targets for further improving access for all in terms of both physical and intellectual access.

2. Healthy, safe and secure Site supervision and lines of responsibility are outlined (Section 5 ) with specific information on dealing with emergencies (Section 5.2.4 ) and management of anti-social behaviour. Inspection regimes are detailed in relation to Park Infrastructure (Section 6 ). Details are provided on the full range of built facilities within the park in Section 6 and how the quality and value of the site is measured in Section 11.2 .



3. Clean and well maintained Details of staff roles are provided in Section 5.2.1 . Maintenance and management of individual facilities is provided in Section 6 .

4. Sustainability The Council has achieved Green Dragon level 3, while the Bute Park Education Centre has achieved level 4 (first achieved in 2013). Specific mention is made of sustainable design (Section 6.1.1 ), energy use and management (Section 6.5 ), timber recycling (Section 7.2.4 ). The Council has a pesticide policy is available upon request. The reduction of peat use is a service wide objective that is dealt with in the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. Arboriculture and woodland and management is outlined in Section 7.2. The corporate approach to sustainability is outlined in the Strategic framework document for green space management plans.

5. Conservation and heritage Bute Park has a documented history and this has been outlined as a timeline within the plan (Section 2.1 ). Conservation and heritage significance are outlined in Section 2.2 and site designations are provided in Section 2.3 . Specific mention is made of historic site features (Section 6.4.3 ).

6. Community Involvement Community involvement is detailed in Section 9 and customer consultation is covered in Section 11.4 .

7. Marketing Marketing work is linked to the implementation of the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy Action Plan. The range of information available and provided in relation to the park is detailed in Section 10 .

8. Management The Action plan (Appendix 1 ) indicates how the aspirations that have developed since the adoption of the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy will be delivered in the context of Bute Park. Section 11 outlines how this plan will be driven forward and the results monitored.



Management Plan Index Contents Page 1.0 Introduction 11 1.1 Background 11 1.2 Purpose of plan 12 1.3 Scope and structure 12 1.4 Site details and location 13 1.5 Site description

1.5.1 Brief summary description 1.5.2 Area by area descriptions

13 13 15

2.0 Context for management and maintenance 19 2.1 Bute Park historic context 19 2.2 Statement of significance for Bute Park

2.2.1 Primary significance 2.2.2 Other significance

23 23 26

2.3 Site designations, leases and covenants 2.3.1 Statutory designations 2.3.2 Covenants, land titles and existing leases

30 30 31

2.4 The Bute Park Restoration Project 34 2.5 Shared use path issues 34 2.6 Use as a major civic and community event space 35 2.7 Sport and recreation use

2.7.1 Use of Blackweir Sports Pitches 2.7.2 Cardiff Park Run 2.7.3 Pedal Power 2.7.4 Military Preparation College 2.7.5 Regular annual sport events 2.7.6 Key holder arrangements

35 36 37 37 37 38 38

2.8 Relationship with Cardiff Castle 38 2.9 Anti-social behaviour

2.9.1 Dog fouling 2.9.2 Drug and alcohol use and anti-social litter 2.9.3 Unauthorised camping and rough sleeping

39 39 40 41

2.10 Local government austerity 41 2.11 Commercial considerations and business plan 42 3.0 The vision for Bute Park 43 3.1 Assessment and analysis

3.1.1 SWOT analyses 3.1.2 Consultation feedback 3.1.3 Professional feedback

43 43 44 45

3.2 Mission statement 45 3.3 Aims and objectives 46 4.0 Delivery framework 48 4.1 Responding to the aims of the management plan 48



Contents Page 4.2 Developing the approach 48 4.3 Quality assurance and continuous improvement 49 4.4 Risk Register 50 4.5 Issue Log 51 4.6 Getting the basics right 51 4.7 Adding to the knowledge base 51 5.0 Management structure and training 53 5.1 General principles

5.1.1 Understanding change 5.1.2 Flexibility 5.1.3 Management framework

53 53 53 53

5.2 Management structure 5.2.1 Current position 5.2.2 Service Delivery Teams 5.2.3 Future staffing aspirations 5.2.4 Dealing with emergencies

53 53 55 55 55

6.0 Park Infrastructure 57 6.1 General principles

6.1.1 Sustainable Design 6.1.2 Inspection Regime 6.1.3 Asset Repair and Renewal

57 57 57 57

6.2 Buildings 6.2.1 Building Management 6.2.2 Security 6.2.3 Maintenance of building fabric 6.2.4 Concessions

58 58 67 68 69

6.3 Watercourses and ponds 6.3.1 Bridges dams and culverts 6.3.2 Dock feeder 6.3.3 Ponds and pools

72 72 74 74

6.4 External hard landscaping 6.4.1 Roadways paths and surfaces 6.4.2 Boundaries and gates 6.4.3 Historic site features 6.4.4 Signage 6.4.5 Furniture 6.4.6 Artwork

76 76 77 78 84 85 86

6.5 Services 6.5.1 General 6.5.2 Facilities

87 87 87

6.6 Play and Fitness Equipment 6.6.1 Balance Trail 6.6.2 Trim Trail 6.6.3 Play Sculptures

89 90 91 91

7.0 Park Environment 93



Contents .1 General principles

7.1.1 Managing the changing landscape 7.1.2 The influence of a changing climate

93 93 93

7.2 Tree management 7.2.1 Maintenance and Management of Trees 7.2.2 Maintenance and Management of woodland areas 7.2.3 Coppice management 7.2.4 Timber and Green Waste Recycling 7.2.5 Hedges

93 93 95 95 96 96

7.3 Ornamental planting 7.3.1 General principles 7.3.2 Permanent Planting 7.3.3 Historic planting restoration 7.3.4 Herbaceous Plants 7.3.5 Other planted features

97 97 98 98 100 102

7.4 Bulb planted areas 102 7.5 Grassland management 103 7.6 Management of water courses and aquatic areas

7.6.1 Dock feeder 7.6.2 Mill Leat 7.6.3 River Taff

105 105 105 106

7.7 Protecting and promoting biodiversity 7.7.1 General description 7.7.2 Management Issues 7.7.3 Management Measures

106 106 108 108

7.8 Noxious weed control 7.8.1 General 7.8.2 Japanese Knotweed 7.8.3 Other Noxious weeds

109 109 109 110

8.0 Movement and Use 111 8.1 Access to the park

8.1.1 Sustainable access 8.1.2 Pedestrian access 8.1.3 Cycle access 8.1.4 After dark and commuter access 8.1.5 Vehicle access 8.1.6 Emergency vehicle access

111 111 112 119 121 122 123

8.2 Internal orientation 8.2.1 Visual 8.2.2 Oral 8.2.3 Tactile 8.2.4 Orientation Points

124 124 131 131 135

9.0 People and partners 136 9.1 Park use 136 9.2 Volunteers and park friends 136 9.3 Work experience and training, including apprenticeships 138



Contents Page 9.4 Funding partners

9.4.1 Memorials and donations 9.4.2 Grant funding

139 139 140

9.5 Non funding partners 141 9.6 Live Partnership Projects

9.6.1 KWT Dock Feeder Work 9.6.2 RSPB provision for schools 9.6.3 RSPB Give Nature a Home project 9.6.4 Vision 21 bench maintenance 9.6.5 Probation Service goal post painting

142 142 143 143 143 144

10.0 Information 145 10.1 Information management 145 10.2 Internal information management

10.2.1 Procedures for problem resolution 10.2.2 Procedures for responding to customer feedback

145 145 145

10.3 External information management 146 10.4 Marketing

10.4.1 Resident target audiences 10.4.2 Resident audience marketing media 10.4.3 Tourist target audiences 10.4.4 Tourist audience marketing media

146 146 147 147 148

10.5 Interpretation 10.5.1 Interpretive media 10.5.2 Parks style

149 149 149

10.6 The Parks and Plants web site 149 11.0 Achieving the goal and measuring success 151 11.1 Cost of managing the park 151 11.2 Quality and value assessment 151 11.3 Key performance indicators 152 11.4 Customer consultation 154 11.5 Achievements and celebrating success 155 Figures Page Figure 1 Bute Park Character Zones 18 Figure 2 Basic management structure at Bute Park (2014) 54 Figure 3 Location and photographs of bridges, dams and

culverts within the park. 73



Tables Page Table 1 Summary of anti-social litter recorded for Bute

Park between the periods 1st Jan - 15th Oct 2014 40

Table 2 Example of how volunteer time and equivalent monetary value will be recorded based on standards provided by HLF

153

Table 3 Data table extracted from 2014 Bute Park user consultation survey

154

Table 4 Data extracted from Trip Advisor website 23rd Sept 2014

154

Plates Page Plate 1 A montage of early photographs of the site 23 Plate 2 Extract from registered title plan showing land

purchased by Cardiff Corporation adjacent to North Rd (former Blackweir farm site).

32

Plate 3 West Lodge 60 Plate 4 The Summerhouse Cafe 61 Plate 5 Secret Garden Cafe 62 Plate 6 Education Centre 64 Plate 7 Castle Nursery offices & Storage Sheds 65 Plate 8 Castle Nursery Glasshouses 66 Plate 9 Blackweir Changing Rooms 67 Plate 10 Pettigrew Tearooms 69 Plate 11 Summerhouse Cafe 70 Plate 12 Secret Garden Cafe 71 Plate 13 Recent Dock Feeder Bank repairs 74 Plate 14 Mill Leat 75 Plate 15 Exit only turnstile 78 Plate 16 Blackfriars Friary 79 Plate 17 Animal Wall 80 Plate 18 Eastern Boundary Wall 81 Plate 19 Lady Bute’s Well 82 Plate 20 West Gate Bridge 82 Plate 21 Gallery footings 83 Plate 22 18th Century Bridge Abutment 84 Plate 23 Existing seating styles in Bute Park 85 Plate 24 Existing bin styles in Bute Park 86 Plate 25 Balance trail 90 Plate 26 Trim Trail 91 Plate 27 Play Sculptures 92 Plate 28 Herbaceous borders in Bute Park 101



Plates Page Plate 29 Advisory signage on vehicle access bridge to

direct pedestrians to RWCMD entrance 113

Plate 30 Weight limit sign on the Ambulance Station Bridge

115

Plate 31 Reflective advisory path stamps along designated cycle route to help manage shared use

116

Plate 32 Flag Banner Pole on North Road by RWCMD 117 Plate 33 New private dwelling on the Site of the former

North Lodge Cottage 118

Plate 34 Reflective advisory path stamps for shared use on Millennium Bridge

119

Plate 35 Bike stands in use at West Lodge 120 Plate 36 Example of timber barrier and signage through

Blackweir woodland SINC route 121

Plate 37 Artwork for sign located adjacent to intercom system on Bute Park vehicle entrance bridge. To be installed winter 2014.

122

Plate 38 Satellite image showing position of Corbett Rd bridge into Bute Park

123

Plate 39 Example of orientation board within Bute Park 124 Plate 40 Example of finger post sign within Bute Park 125 Plate 41 Image of the bespoke square section collar used

to carry code of conduct information on the Bute Park way-finding totem poles.

126

Plate 42 Example of one of the interpretation boards featured throughout the site

127

Plate 43 Picture of the information board adjacent to the U-Turn bird song box

127

Plate 44 Old arboretum collection interpretation sign

128

Plate 45 Photo of the 'People's Door' within the garden wall of the Education Centre building

129

Plate 46 Photo of a QR plaque by the People’s Door 130 Plate 47 Photo of the Blackfriars Friary tactile model 134 Plate 48 Example of one of the 16 number of rubbing

posts located around the park. 134

Plate 49 Montage of works along the Dock Feeder canal undertaken through a partnership project with Keep Wales Tidy

142



Appendices Appendix 1 Bute Park Development & Action plan Appendix 2a Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Southern Lawns Appendix 2b Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

North Gate and Castle Approaches Appendix 2c Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Cooper’s Field Appendix 2d Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Old Man’s Wood and the Blackfriars site Appendix 2e Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Herbaceous border Appendix 2f Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Northern lawns Appendix 2g Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Castle Nursery and Orchard Lawn Appendix 2h Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Northern Arboretum Appendix 2i Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Blackweir sports ground Appendix 2j Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

Gabalfa Woodlands Appendix 2k Bute Park Area by Area Management Schedule

The Dock Feeder and Eastern Woodlands Appendix 3 Key Holding Agreement (Sept 2014) Appendix 4 Bute Park and Cardiff Castle Joint Working Appendix 5a Bute Park SWOT Analysis (September 2014) Appendix 5b 2014 Public Consultation Event Feedback – Bute Park Appendix 6a Bute Park Event Space and Event Management SWOT

Analysis Appendix 6b 2014 Event Organiser Feedback Bute Park Appendix 7a Bute Park Education Centre SWOT Analysis (Sept 2014) Appendix 7b 2014 Public Consultation Event Feedback for Bute Park

Education Centre and Education and Outreach Programme Appendix 8 Blackweir Changing Rooms SWOT Analysis 2014 Appendix 9 2014 Bute Park Online Consultation Survey Appendix 10a Bute Park Green Flag Award Feedback 2014 Appendix 10b Bute Park Green Heritage Site Award Feedback 2014 Appendix 11 Bute Park Risk Register Appendix 12 Bute Park Business Plan for Management Plan (Oct 2014) Appendix 13 Bute Park Maintenance Requirements Schedule (Oct 2014) Appendix 14a Tom Harvey Timber Sculpture Maintenance Schedule Appendix 14b Mark Folds Timber Sculpture Maintenance Schedule Appendix 14c David Lloyd Timber Sculpture Maintenance Schedule Appendix 15 Pettigrew Planting List



Appendices Appendix 16 Grassland Baseline Survey Appendix 17 Bute Park Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation Appendix 18 Bute Park Entrance Plan Appendix 19 Bute Park Visitor Leaflet Appendix 20 Oct 13 to Oct 14 Bute Park People Counter Data Appendix 21 Bute Park Scatter Graph of Quality Value Audit TO

FOLLOW Appendix 22 Memorial Scheme Conditions TO FOLLOW



1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background In February 2004, the Cardiff Council adopted the Parks Partnership

Programme, which identified six historic parks across the city as priorities for restoration work to ensure that their important contribution to the city’s heritage is safeguarded for future generations. Bute Park was the first park to be developed as part of the programme. An updated Parks Partnership Strategy was approved by Cabinet in April 2014, which refocused the programme in light of achievements to date, decreasing local government budgets and the present funding climate.

The Council signed a contract with the Heritage Lottery Fund for £3.1

million towards a £5.6 million restoration project for Bute Park in early spring 2009. Match funding was provided by the Council with additional grants from Cadw and Landfill Community Fund.

The capital phase of the project took place on site 2010 – 2014 and

significant improvements and additions to the site’s infrastructure were made.

A 10 year Bute Park Maintenance & Management plan (2007) was initially developed as part of the second stage submission for Heritage Lottery Funding so was a fairly weighty document. This current document is a complete revision of the original plan which takes into account all the physical works completed as part of the project and follows the latest in-house Maintenance & Management Plan style which aligns to the requirements of Green Flag submission. The Management Plan has been written to be read in conjunction with the overarching Strategic Framework Document for Green Space Management Plans which provides the strategic and policy context within which the Council operates and is an annually updated source for all the information about the structure and function of the council and general green space management procedure. Bute Park first received a Green Flag award in 2009 and has retained the award every year since then. In 2014 the site was designated a Green Heritage Site. Green Heritage Sites are a specific accreditation within the Green Flag Award scheme and the aim of Green Heritage Site status is to promote the value of and best practice in the care and upkeep of historic sites. The new development action plan covers the period 2015 – 2020, with a business plan for the period 2014/15 – 2024/25.

1.2 Purpose of plan



One of the main changes in parks management between 2004 and 2009 has been the introduction of Green Flag awards to Wales (in 2004) and the subsequent shift in national focus that has led to these awards being increasingly seen as the benchmark for quality provision in public parks.

This plan follows the format successfully used for other city parks (e.g.

Roath Park, Parc Cefn Onn) and aligns clearly to Green Flag criteria. The use of the management plan helps to provide documentary

evidence for the future sustainability of the park and will enable the Council to submit the site for Green Flag assessment at the appropriate time.

1.3 Scope and structure

This document has been laid out to show in simple terms: Where we are now? Where we would like to get to? How we are going to get there? How do we know we are there?

To ensure that this document does not become too weighty it was

decided that it should only include the key elements involved in the management of this park, and then signpost to additional or more detailed information, including a site A-Z manual. If this document is being viewed electronically it is important to note that it contains a number of links which take the reader directly to the full documents when they are available via the Council website.

The scope and structure of this plan can be summarised as follows:

• To provide a brief description of the park including a summary of its history.

• To set out the vision for the park showing how these link back to the Council’s higher level objectives, and how the short, medium and long term aims for the park are being delivered by the planned programme of work which is being carried out by the various operational teams.

• To create a reference document that can be used by other members of the management teams or by senior management.

• To make available to the frontline staff in a usable format key information such as the history of the site and a summary of the work programme. Thus allowing them to use the document for reference to answer questions from the public that they may be asked whilst carrying out their daily activities.

• To effectively summarise the appropriate information in response to the criteria detailed in the Green Flag Award



Scheme (summary provided in Preface (page 1) and updated annually.

Appendix 1 of the plan sets out the five year Development Plan and annual action plan.

1.4 Site details and location Site Name Bute Park Address Cardiff CF10 3DX Website: http://bute-park.com/ Electoral Division Cathays OS Map Leisure Map 171 Grid Ref ST 181 765 Tenure Owned by Cardiff County Council and Catholic

Church in Wales: Whole site managed by Culture, Leisure and Parks

Service Tennis Club leased to Cardiff Tennis Club Castle mews leased to Royal Welsh College of

Music and Drama Area Total land area: 59 hectares including leased land Council Owned land: 55.1 hectares Catholic Church owned Lands: 4.9 hectares Cardiff Tennis Club: 0.9 Hectares Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama: 0.4

hectares Area Classification Cathays is one of the least deprived wards in

Cardiff, in the Wales Index of Multiple Deprivation 2011, However, it is easily accessible from parts of lower Riverside and Butetown which are among the most deprived areas in Wales

Maintained Areas Details of the maintained areas (Historic park and

woodland area are shown in Figure 1 ). 1.5 Site description

1.5.1 Brief summary description

Bute Park is a unique city centre park flanked by the river Taff on the west, Castle Street and the city centre on the south, North Rd (A470) on its east and Western Ave (A48) to its north. Cardiff Castle is adjacent to the park’s south east corner. Its location at the heart of Cardiff makes it an essential “green lung” providing respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.



Bute Park was formerly the property of the Marquesses of Bute and a significant part of the area formed the formal grounds of Cardiff Castle. The land was in part given to the people of Cardiff in 1947 by the Marquess of Bute, along with the Castle. In 2000, it was included, along with Cardiff Castle, on the Glamorgan Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Interest in Wales at grade 1(ref: PGW (GM) 22 (CDF). As an arboretum the park also has the largest number of United Kingdom Champion Trees of any site in Wales. The character of Bute Park is dominated by the nineteenth century plantings of mature trees which have been supplemented by subsequent development of Bute Park Arboretum and the memorial tree donation scheme. The setting of Cardiff Castle, when viewed from the park, is characterised by the foreground of mature Magnolias which have been extended over the years. The central open lawns of Cooper’s Fields form the venue for many of the city’s major concerts and outdoor events. The grounds are further enhanced with massed bulb planting beneath the tree canopies, and the herbaceous border, established in the 1950s provides a riot of summer colour. The main ornamental grounds terminate around the walled garden, constructed at some time between 1906 and 1913. This was originally used for fruit and vegetable production for the estate and is currently used as the Council’s production nursery for bedding plants and floral decorations as well as providing storage for shrubs and trees before planting elsewhere in the city. North of the walled garden is the Blackweir Playing fields. Originally Blackweir farm, some of the original field pattern is still preserved in the layout of the fields. Further north, the park narrows and becomes less formal in character, but still retains some spectacular tree planting, particularly the grouped Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood) and Fagus Sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ (Copper Beech). At this point, the Taff Trail follows the line of the park through Gabalfa Woods up to Gabalfa. The route is popular with students accessing the City Centre from their Halls of Residence on the eastern boundary of the park. At its most northerly point, Bute Park is little more than an access corridor between the river and the Tesco Superstore at Western Avenue bridge. However, even here it provides an important wildlife corridor as well as providing a green backdrop to the extensive car parking surrounding the retail units.



The park is diverse in its nature and to assist in maintenance and management the park has been divided into a number of character areas and compartments. See the Plan of the park at Figure 1 . 1.5.2 Area by area descriptions

This section provides a list of the Park’s management compartments

and their character area subdivisions see Figure 1. Detailed descriptions are available in the document ‘Tree management: a Strategic Overview 2007’ with an updated summary description included in the area by area management plans in Appendix 2A–K .

a) Management Compartments A Southern lawns B North gate and Castle approaches C Cooper’s Field D Old Man’s Wood and the Blackfriars site E Herbaceous border F Northern lawns G Castle Nursery and Orchard Lawn H Northern Arboretum I Blackweir sports ground J Gabalfa Woodlands K The Dock Feeder and Eastern Woodlands

b) Character Area Subdivisions A: Southern Lawns A1 Pettigrew Avenue trees A2 Acer / Magnolia collection A3 Gorsedd Lawn A4 Path junction south of Blackfriars site A5 Gallery footings A6 Mill Leat A7 South western lawns B: North Gate and Castle Approaches B1 Tulip Tree Avenue B2 Ginkgo Avenue and mews entrance B3 Lawn west of Ginkgo Avenue B4 East bank of Feeder C: Coopers Field



C1 Events field C2 Pine group C3 Oak collection D: Old Man’s Wood and the Blackfriars Site D1 Blackfriars’ site D2 Old Man’s Wood E: Herbaceous Border

E1 Herbaceous border E2 Island beds and River frontage E3 Summerhouse café F: Northern Lawns F1 Sunken Lawn F2 Ornamental woodland A & B F3 Open ornamental lawn F4 Eastern arboretum collections F5 Pettigrew layout F6 Riverside walk G: Castle Nursery and Orchard Lawn G1 Orchard lawn and Stuttgart Garden G2 Walled garden and Castle Nursery G3 North Road entrance and Sorbus collection H: Northern Arboretum H1 Thorn and Ash collections H2 Blackweir woodlands, A, B & C Acer, Beech and Conifer collections H3 Redwood Plantation H4 Woodland west of flood bank I: Blackweir sports ground I1 Upper field I2 Lower field



J: Gabalfa Woodlands J1 Lime Avenue J2 Gabalfa Woodland south J3 Gabalfa Woodland north K: The Dock Feeder and Eastern Woodlands K1 A, B, C & D West Feeder bank K2 A, B & C East Feeder bank



Figure 1: Bute Park character zones



2.0 Context for management and maintenance 2.1 Bute Park historic context and timeline The records held for Bute Park were researched and compiled during

the preparation of the HLF grant bid and now a good archive of material is held. There are also good links with other archives that hold relevant primary source material. Prior the preparation of the HLF grant bid there was no formally compiled written history of the park. The Parks Service continue to build on the archive held through research, recording information discovered through discussions with the local community (e.g. during historical walks and talks) and gathering information researched by volunteers.

The following timeline gives a brief outline of the site’s history. The Romans AD 55 – 60 First Roman settlement in Cardiff. This was the first in a series of earth and timber forts which extended north of the present Castle enclosure. At some point during this period, the route to the west would have crossed the river Taff. AD 260 – 280 Fourth Roman (stone) fort constructed, forming the base of the present Castle. AD 400 A settlement developed around the Roman fort, which seems to have remained after the Romans had ceased to occupy the fort.

The Normans & the Middle Ages 1080 According to the Welsh Chronicles of the Princes, the building of Cardiff began

1091 Robert Fitzhamon took possession of Cardiff Castle and the manors belonging to it

1256 Blackfriars Friary founded by Richard de Clare

1282 – 1283 King Edward conquers Wales. Llewellyn ab Gruffydd, the country's last prince is killed

1404 Cardiff is sacked by Owain Glyndwr, and Blackfriars and West Gate are destroyed.

Tudors & Stuarts 1538 Blackfriars handed over to the crown as part of the Dissolution of the monasteries which occurred during the reign of Henry VIII. Demolition of the building occurred almost immediately with building materials plundered for use elsewhere. 1550 King Edward VI grants Cardiff Castle and the mills to William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke



Georgian

1766 Charlotte Jane Windsor married John, Lord Mount Stuart. Lord Mount Stuart created Baron Cardiff 1776 John Mounstuart, 4th Earl of Bute (later 1st Marquess of Bute) acquires the Glamorgan Estate and Cardiff Castle. Capability Brown and his son in law Henry Holland were employed to remodel the house and grounds – work which continued beyond Brown’s death in 1783. 1796 Lord Mount Stuart created first Marquess of Bute, and was succeeded by his grandson in 1814 1814 – 1825 David Stewart appointed by the second Marquess to carry out major survey of the Bute estates which identified the potential for the development of the Docks in Cardiff

Victorian 1837-41 From 1837-41, the dock feeder canal was constructed along the line of the former medieval mill stream, and the First Cardiff Dock opened in 1839. 1848 Death of the second Marquess, who was succeeded by his son who was a year old at the time. 1855-57 In 1855 the Trustees acting on behalf of the infant Marquess closed Cooper’s Fields to public access. However in 1857, Sophia Gardens was opened to the public at the instigation of the young Marquess in compensation for the exclusion of public access from land on the east side of the river – now Bute Park. 1860 Trustees acting for the Third Marquess commence work to build a new lodge and entrance to the Castle Grounds in Castle Street. Designed by Alexander Roos in gothic style, it was completed in 1863 and comprised of a living room kitchen and scullery on ground floor and 3 bedrooms above. It was occupied from 1881 – 1901 by the lodge keeper Fredrick Willis and his family.

1866 Andrew Pettigrew entered the employment of the Marquess of Bute as head gardener at Dumfries House, Ayrshire. He was brought down to Cardiff as head gardener at Cardiff Castle in 1873 and worked closely with the Marquess and his architect William Burges to lay out the castle grounds, now Bute Park. 1875 The Swiss bridge designed by Burges was constructed as a new exit from the castle to private grounds. It was modelled on the mediaeval bridge at Lucerne.



1887-97 Blackfriars site was excavated by Kempson & Fowler at the instigation of the Marquess of Bute, and interpreted in modern materials in accordance with developing principles of historic building restoration. 1890s Construction of the Animal Wall, originally designed by William Burges, began in front of the castle.

20th Century 1901 Death of the Third Marquess who was succeeded by his son. 1906-1913 The walled nursery was built at some time between these dates to replace the original estate nursery which used to be in Cathays Park following the sale of the site to Cardiff Corporation. The nursery was used to produce fruit and vegetables for the Bute family. Produce was regularly transported from Cardiff to their Scottish estate on the Isle of Bute as late as 1943. 1921 J.P. Grant began to reconstruct the medieval West Gate and town wall alongside the castle 1923 Animal Wall removed and relocated west of the Castle due to the widening of Duke Street 1927 Swiss bridge relocated west of Castle mews to make room for the West Gate development. 1937 Footings for a new art gallery were constructed behind the Animal Wall but in 1939, work on the gallery was abandoned due to outbreak of war. 1947 On the death of the fourth Marquess of Bute, the castle and grounds were gifted to the people of Cardiff by the 5th Marquess. Additional lands, including Blackweir Farm were purchased from the estate by the Council. At the same time 11 acres of the park were gifted to the Roman Catholic Church for the purpose of building a new cathedral. 1947 Cardiff Council established the arboretum at Bute Park under the direction of Bill Nelmes, Chief Parks Officer 1963 The Swiss bridge was demolished 1970’s The Mill Leat was drained following a drowning and flooding in the basement of the Angel hotel across the road on Castle Street. 1978 Gorsedd Stones were erected in Bute Park to commemorate National Eisteddfod in Cardiff 1988 The wooden summerhouse was dismantled from the park and rebuilt at the Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans. It is still there now. 1999 The Millennium footbridge, linking the park to Sophia Gardens, was constructed as part of the preparations for the Rugby World Cup in Cardiff.



2009 A new access bridge into Bute Park was constructed opposite Corbett Rd to rationalize traffic management in the site.

Bute Park Restoration Project March 2009 The Bute Park Restoration Project, supported by a £3.1m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, begins (permission to start) Project Manager appointed Oct 2009. Jan 2010 First capital works of the restoration project begin on site. May 2010 The new Summerhouse Café, based on Burges' original design, is completed. Oct 2010 The restoration of the Animal Wall was completed. Graffiti was cleaned from the rear of wall, and all stonework repointed and repaired. The famous anteater gets his nose back. Oct 2011 Bute Park Education Centre, a hub of learning, training and education, opens to the public, along with the Secret Garden Cafe. March 2012 West Lodge opens as Pettigrew Tea Rooms after the restoration of the building. Beautiful Victorian tiles reclaimed from Blackfriars were used for the floor. March 2012 Bute Park Friends Group formally constituted. Dec 2013 The Mill Leat, which had been dry since the late 1970's, is re-flooded, providing new habitat for wildlife, and beautiful reflections of the castle. Works included excavating the leat and rebuild existing masonry including 2 new dams. July 2014 Blackfriars Friary site which has been fully conserved and restored, is opened to the public, including a 3D model depicting the site in its medieval heyday. Throughout the project a range of other landscape improvements are made (upgraded paths, new bins, signs, seats, picnic benches, sculptural art and natural play, woodland balance trail, refurbishment of Blackweir Changing rooms, repairs to erosion of the Dock feeder western bank, website, as well as the establishment of an education and outreach programme) During the project period the Millennium Bridge was fully refurbished (Dec 2013) and a trash screen was installed to catch debris historically blocking the tunnels behind the castle (Aug 2014). These were not funded by the HLF project. A montage of early photographs of the site is provi ded at Plate 1.



Plate 1: A montage of early photographs of the site 2.2 Statement of significance for Bute Park Bute Park is one of the largest urban parks in the UK, with a landscape ranging from 19th century gardens and planting in the south, adjacent to Cardiff Castle, to sports pitches and informal woodland in the north. The park is not just significant on historic grounds, but the combination of historic, environmental, horticultural and other factors make this a unique and important site at a local, regional, national and international scale. 2.2.1 Primary significance

The elements of primary significance relating to Bute Park are: a) Links to the Bute Family (along with Cardiff Cas tle)

Bute Park, along with Cardiff Castle, is significant in its strong links with the Bute Family as one of a number of estates across the UK owned by the family between the mid eighteenth and mid twentieth



centuries. Although the estate was never more than a temporary home for the family – the fact that the family’s nineteenth century wealth was built on coal mined from the Welsh Valleys and exported from the docks in Cardiff (that had been built by the Bute family) means that there is a very specific link to Cardiff and in particular Bute Park and Cardiff Castle, in which the family invested heavily to create the landscape and architecture that is now very much part of Cardiff’s distinctive heritage.

Scope of significance: International

b) Visual setting for Cardiff Castle

Bute Park provides the characteristic setting for many of the best known portraits of Cardiff Castle. Early views, where the foreground of West Street and the surrounding fields focus attention on the Castle itself, date back to 1678 (Francis Place, Cardiff from the west). The same image is repeated in a number of classic portraits of the town and castle during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly the Buck engravings, 1741 and 1748. The laying out of the park in the late nineteenth century formalised the view up and down Cooper’s Field both from and towards the castle as one of the primary viewpoints within the designed landscape. The view of Cardiff Castle from Cooper’s Field, with the Acer and Camellia collection in the foreground and the clock-tower rising from behind mature park trees is now one of the iconic images of Cardiff, alongside the Millennium Stadium, City Hall and Cardiff Bay. Scope of significance: National

c) Designed landscape

The laying out of the Castle Grounds by Andrew Pettigrew, between 1873 and 1903, is the only known example of a designed layout by this highly respected, nineteenth century gardener and horticulturalist. Despite the absence of any surviving master plan for the estate, the broad layout of the grounds today reflects the structure indicated on the 1901 Ordnance Survey plan with its characteristic features of expansive lawns, clumps of trees, wooded areas and under-storey planting. From descriptions of contemporary garden visits, the Pettigrew landscape style was understated, very different to the high Victorian layouts of the mid nineteenth century and more akin to the landscape style of the American designer Frederick Law Olmsted, whose work was referred to by Pettigrew in his written and spoken presentations on design. The landscape takes advantage of



the linear nature of the site, utilising this to best effect through the strong north – south axis, culminating in the dramatic silhouette of Cardiff Castle dominating the south eastern corner. The presence of the dock feeder on the eastern side of the park increases the natural buffer along the eastern boundary, reducing and even eliminating the impact of North Road on the park and creating an expansive, tranquil and beautiful place in the heart of the city.

The lack of any original layout plans for the gardens has left them vulnerable to intervention and modification through the passage of time and there is a particular conflict between the late Victorian / Edwardian layout and the more recent twentieth century Arboretum collection, established during the late 1940s.

Scope of significance: National

d) Blackfriars site

The mediaeval Blackfriars Friary dates from the twelfth century. The site is one of the few mediaeval friaries in Wales where the site layout is known and largely displayed – and is second only to Haverfordwest Priory in this respect. Its significance is elevated due to the fact that Cardiff’s other Friary – the Greyfriars – was developed in the 1960s and is now beneath the ‘Capital Tower’ on the corner of Greyfriars Road. The Blackfriars site is the most obvious presence within the park of a history predating the Bute ownership of the castle and estate.

The partially restored and conserved visible remains of the Friary are not mediaeval, having been interpreted and reconstructed during the late nineteenth century as a result of archaeological excavation works carried out under instruction from the Third Marquess of Bute. It is this visible reconstruction that makes the site unique in Wales, and one of only a few sites of its kind in the UK. The re-creation of the Friary layout appears to follow the principles of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) which was formed in 1877 around the time that the excavations were being carried out. The archaeological investigations carried out in advance of and during the restoration works have significantly increased the understanding of the interpreted site. Scope of significance: National

e) The Arboretum

The Arboretum in Bute Park was developed by Bill Nelmes, Chief Parks Officer, from the late 1940s onwards. The tree collections were planted in species groups, initially within the landscape



structure of the park, although the effects of WW2 food production had probably simplified some of the original layout. Planting dwindled in the 1960s, but was revived with a tree donation scheme in the 1980s, when the collections were extended and the planting was more widespread. New and replacement trees have been added to the collections throughout the recent HLF restoration project.

The tree collection contains around 2,200 trees, of which many are extremely rare and probably exist on a limited number of sites within the UK. There are currently 41 champion trees in the collection1 (the widest or tallest of their type in the UK) – but these are not necessarily the oldest trees – some of the rarest trees and a significant number of champions are contained within the more recent plantings.

The collection is unique in a public park. It was surveyed in 2005 by Dr Owen Johnson of the Tree Register of the British Isles (TROBI), who has described the park as ‘unique in public parks in Britain or Ireland for its scope and its quantity of rare material. Assessed in terms of the Tree Register's statistics, Bute Park has nearly four times as many Champion Trees as its nearest rival among public parks in Britain (Roath Park), and three times as many trees noted as being of national importance for stature or rarity. ’

Scope of significance: National

2.2.2 Other significance

The elements of other significance relating to Bute Park are detailed below. The combination of these with the elements of primary significance elevates the status of Bute Park in terms of its overall significance as an urban park within the UK. a) History of the site

This history of the land now referred to as Bute Park is intimately associated with the history of Cardiff as a settlement. Although no major Roman remains have been discovered on the site, it is likely that the site of the Roman river crossing and associated road lies within the park. Mediaeval settlement along West Street continued through into the eighteenth century and is well documented. The alignment of the millstream, parallel to the River Taff, and its weirs, fisheries and mills, are all recorded. The development of the three bridge locations – the mediaeval, eighteenth and nineteenth century

1 Number of champion trees in February 2014



bridges, and concurrent movements of the Taff, provide a fascinating insight into the town’s struggle with the natural elements. A reminder of the link with the export of coal can be seen in the creation of the dock feeder along the mill stream line, which still feeds water to Cardiff’s docks today and the layout of the southern park is the legacy of the wealth created by the coal export industry. Even the layout of the Blackweir Recreation Ground still provides clues about its agricultural roots. The process of unravelling the site history is still ongoing,. This makes the site particularly valuable to historians and academics. The history of the site has been interpreted through the HLF project but further interpretation is possible. Given the right clues, the site can be easily understood because the park has never been built upon, and the spaces within the site allow visitors to appreciate the site’s associations with Cardiff Castle and the way in which it has developed. Scope of significance: Regional

b) Hidden Archaeology The lack of built development in the park has meant that much of the underground archaeology, which has never been properly investigated, is still likely to be ‘in situ’. Roman, mediaeval, post mediaeval and eighteenth century finds have been discovered within the park, although only a limited number of structures have been located and partially excavated2. Initial geophysical survey work along the eighteenth century line of West Street, carried out 2004/5, suggested that many of the buildings on the street are still present below ground, further evidence of this was discovered when a mature Holm oak in the area fell exposing masonry remains. Significant buried structures and high status items not previously found outside Cardiff Castle were also discovered during archaeological investigations associated with the re flooding of the Mill Leat In 2013.

Scope of significance: Regional

c) Built structures Bute Park contains a number of built structures dating back to the mid and late nineteenth century and associated with the park’s use as the private grounds to Cardiff Castle. These are primarily associated with access to and enclosure of the grounds. These structures include the iconic Animal Wall along the southern boundary, the gateway entrance at West Lodge and the lodge itself,

2 Glamorgan and Gwent Archaeological Trust, March 2001



the gateway entrance north of Cardiff Castle, the boundary wall along North Road and collection of houses and former farm buildings at Blackweir Farm. At Blackweir, the houses and cottages are now in private ownership, as is the northern-most lodge at Gabalfa, in Gabalfa Woods.

All of these buildings and structures are significant in the fact that they help to retain the ‘estate’ character of the park, distinguishing it from other public parks in Cardiff with a more municipal character. In particular, the Animal Wall, although not seen from within the park, is one of Cardiff’s most enduring images, and it creates a unique and tantalising southern boundary of universal appeal.

Scope of significance: Local d) Ecology and SINCs

Bute Park is a city centre park, yet it contains or abuts a number of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs):

SINC 17: Gabalfa Woods

A secondary woodland with mature Beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Alder (Alnus glutinosa) which originally bordered the lower reaches of the Glamorganshire Canal and now contains Drooping Sedge (Carex pendula). SINC 6: Blackweir and the Dock Feeder Secondary woodland managed as ornamental parkland with a varied natural and introduced ground flora and the Dock Feeder Canal and associated waterway vegetation. The woodland supports many woodland birds, including Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) and the Dock Feeder supports a colony of Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies (Calopteryx virgo) near Cardiff Castle. The Northern sections of the Bute Park Arboretum are also included within this listing, and contain a very small remnant of Waxcap grassland, including the rare UK BAP species Date-coloured Waxcap (Hygrocibe spadicea).



SINC 97: The River Taff The river is important for migratory fish, Otters (Lutra lutra), wildfowl and bankside vegetation and acts as a main wildlife corridor, attracting fish eating birds such as Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) and Goosander (Mergus merganser). The park is also home to all three UK woodpeckers, the Green woodpecker (Picus viridis), Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and the more rare Lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor), which is on the 2006 IUCN ‘Red List’ of threatened species due to its declining numbers. The park supports colonies of Tawny Owls (Strix aluco) and Pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and on summer evenings, Noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) and Daubentons bats (Myotis daubentonii) can also be seen along the river. Scope of significance: Local

e) Community and events

Bute Park is a city centre urban park with environmental qualities more often found on the urban fringe or in a country park; however it is also an important venue for community activity and local, regional and national events. The park hosts more fun runs and charity events than any other park in Cardiff, with attendance ranging from under 100 up to 9,000. It is also a major focus for open air concerts and festivals with a licenced capacity of up to 19,999. The park is a popular short cut for pedestrian and cyclist access from the suburbs of Riverside and Canton to the city centre, and counters at entrances indicate that around 2,000,000 people access and egress the park each year. The newly established facilities at Pettigrew Tea rooms, The Summerhouse and The Secret Garden cafés have significantly helped to develop the sense of community in the park

Bute Park does not function as a traditional, local, community park. It has a citywide catchment of users, supplemented by visitors to the city, giving it a much wider range of users than any other park in Cardiff and increasing its significance and potential as a major visitor attraction in the city. Scope of significance: Local



f) Educational potential

The educational potential of Cardiff’s parks is being increasingly acknowledged and promoted. Bute Park, by virtue of its facilities, location, qualities and associations with Cardiff’s history has unique educational potential both within the city and in the South Wales region. The site and its education centre provide a venue for all levels of learning: basic skills, national curriculum delivery, adult education, specialist training, degree level coursework and post graduate research. The wide range of themes that can be covered within the park (basic numeracy and language skills, linguistic courses, environmental, social and cultural education, history, biology, geography, ecology, botany, ornithology, archaeology, landscape development, horticultural, arboricultural, fine turf management training, art, photography, journalism etc.) makes the park significant in terms of its educational potential

Scope of significance: Local

2.3 Site designations, leases and covenants 2.3.1 Statutory designations

The Blackfriars site is listed as a scheduled monument; (GM173 – Dominican Friary) any alteration or addition to the restoration and conservation work carried out as part of the HLF project will require scheduled monument consent from Cadw within the scheduled area. 3 Horticultural works and operations within the cloister garth beds which do not exceed 200mmm deep are generally permitted without further formal consent. Animal Wall (Grade I), the restored Victorian interpretation of the Blackfriars site (Grade II) and West Lodge (grade II*) are all statutory Listed Buildings requiring consent from Cadw in order to execute works. Following the significant archaeological finds during works at the northern end of the Mill Leat it is understood that CADW are considering extending the Cardiff Castle and roman fort scheduled monument (GM171) boundary to incorporate this part of the park. The detail of the extent of the extension is not known at this time. The archaeologically sensitive area has been identified in the maintenance schedules in Appendix 2a-k.

3 See Bute Park: Restoration and Development Plan (March 2005), Figure 4, page 30 for extent of Scheduled site



2.3.2 Covenants, land titles and existing leases

a) Existing covenants and restrictions

The main body of the park, excluding the area owned by the

Catholic Church in Wales is public open space held on trust by the Council for the citizens of Cardiff. Anything proposed on the site must be reasonable and be within the spirit of reasonableness of the operation of the land as public open space. This would prevent any area of the park being sectioned off or use of the site for a purely commercial venture unless the site was first advertised for disposal of public open space.

b) Land titles

The southern section of the park including West lodge is owned by the Catholic Church in Wales, having been given to them by the fifth Marquess of Bute as the site for a future Roman Catholic Cathedral in Cardiff. This area has been leased from the church since 19474.

During the spring and summer of 2005, a new lease was

negotiated with the Catholic Church in Wales which gives the Council a 250 year perpetuity lease on the property and removes previous clauses restricting use. The new lease allows the Council to implement development works required to deliver the aspirations for the park as set out in the Restoration and Development plan without requiring any further consent from the Church.

The rent is reviewed every 3 years at the next review the Council aims to re-negotiate the onerous RPI linked terms of the rental agreement.

c) Existing leases

i) Cardiff Tennis Club

The tennis club occupies land south east of the Castle Mews, north of the North Gate into the park. This area is held on a 999 year lease from September 1947.

ii) Castle Mews Castle Mews is currently occupied by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama on a 99 year lease from 1998 at a peppercorn rent.

4 See Bute Park Restoration and Development Plan (March 2005), Figure 5, page 31 for extent of land



iii) Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama occupies an area of land south of the Fishers bridge entrance on a 125 year lease from 2012 at a peppercorn rent. iii) Blackweir Ambulance Station The former Blackweir Farm site was purchased by Cardiff Corporation in 1947 and searches by the Council’s Legal department in Jan 2015 confirm that the land is still registered in the freehold ownership of Cardiff Council (excluding the site of the Blackweir farmhouse and cottages – shown in green, which are now private dwellings), see Plate 2.

Plate 2 – Extract from registered title plan showing land purchased by Cardiff Corporation adjacent to North Rd (former Blackweir farm site). Areas excluded shown in green. In 1949 there was a lease of the ambulance depot itself granted by the Parks Committee to the Health Committee and a



separate licence for the garaging and storage facilities. It is believed these 2 areas should have passed to the Health Service in 1974 upon reorganisation under the NHS Re-organisation Act 1973 (this was conceded by the Council in 1999), though note it seems the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust have never formally registered their interest in the land.

Any requests to pass the freehold of the site to the Health Authority are considered unlikely in view of current site safety issues, and it will be for the Council to decide what should happen to the land when the Ambulance Depot vacate the site.

Land used for vehicle parking located to the north of the access route into the Ambulance Depot was dealt with by a further licence (dated 1979) and since it post-dated the NHS Re-organisation Act would not have automatically transferred at that time. However, the Council did not pursue the NHS/Welsh Ambulance Service Trust to enter into a further licence for the vehicle parking area (which terminated in 1992) and it could therefore be assumed that they have now claimed ownership of this area of land too. It is notable that “No Parking” signs were erected by the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust in 2014 and since then, the area has been used to park ambulances. This represents a change of use, since previously it was used as an informal area of public parking (with occasional film unit and event use) managed by the Council.

The accessways/bridge etc. into Bute Park would not have passed with the Ambulance Depot, though the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust have a right of way over the same to access their premises. Operation of the Ambulance Depot site does not meet current health & safety standards due to the poor access and egress and legacy maintenance issues with the buildings. It is understood that the needs of the Ambulance Service are not being met at this location and the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust are actively seeking new premises. The latest position provided by the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust’s National Estates Manager was that, subject to Welsh Government approval, the necessary business cases and planning applications would be progressed during 2015-2016. Therefore vacation is not considered likely until financial year 16/17 at the earliest. In terms of the long term management of the park, the vacation of this site would potentially allow it to be used as a maintenance base for the horticultural/grounds maintenance operations or as a parking area to support the use of the Blackweir playing fields and park as a whole. However clearly, any future use would



have to be informed by the costs (e.g. maintenance/ demolition/ entrance re-configuration) associated with it. It should be noted that in 2006 an options appraisal for the Ambulance Depot entrance was prepared by Veryards Opus Ltd (now Opus Environment) titled Scoping of Options Report – Bridge 154 - Ambulance depot bridge. This was linked to proposals (now dormant/abandoned) to widen North road as part of transport corridor improvements. This sets out the indicative options and costs. Pursuing the recommendations contained within was not feasible within the life of the HLF restoration project, since the site was still occupied by the Ambulance Depot and there was a requirement for 24/7 access to be maintained throughout any works. See also section 8.1.2(b) for further information.

2.4 The Bute Park Restoration Project The recent completion of the Bute Park restoration project provides an important management context for this management plan. The council is required to ensure the park is a sustainable asset following the significant investment made by both Cardiff Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. This is essential in ensuring the project legacy and potential of the park is realised. A number of features and facilities were restored or introduced during the project and this management plan sets out how they will be managed and maintained in the future. A draft of this document was submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund on 21st October 2014 as it formed a key project close down document. The final draft was completed 30th Jan 2015 in line with Green Flag requirements. 2.5 Shared use path issues Under the current Parks Byelaws, cycling in parks is not permitted but they allow the Council to designate routes for ‘shared use’ simply by the installation of appropriate signs to indicate the permission. The recent increase in popularity of cycling for both commuting and pleasure has created a situation where cycling now takes place across the whole of the park, which has created some conflict between users groups. It is currently not possible to effectively enforce the byelaw on cycling within existing resources. This issue and the new Active Travel Bill has prompted the Council to look at how cycling is impacting on park landscapes and park users. To date, work has been undertaken to develop a draft Code of Conduct for Shared Use Paths. This has been followed up with consultation, across a number of parks, to get a



better understanding of the nature and extent of the problem. Further to this, the Council has now committed itself to undertaking a two year pilot scheme in thirteen parks. It is hoped that the findings from this study will inform the Council how better to in integrate off-road shared use paths safely into our parks. 2.6 Use as a major civic and community event space Bute Park features several event spaces which are used by various charity and commercial organisations to host a range of event types and sizes. This event use is a strength of the park but brings a number of issues and potential threats (see Appendix 6a) , and the effective management of events and the interface they have with the wider use of the park is essential. During the restoration project a guidance manual for event organisers was produced. This followed principles documented in the Events Strategy and Event Management guidance documents (dated Nov 2007) submitted as part of the HLF stage 2 bid. The document Parks Guidance Manual for Event Organisers and its associated appendices, which contain specific site instructions (e.g. for vehicle drivers, care of trees etc.) were first published in March 2014 and so are in their first year of operation. It is intended that these documents be continuously reviewed and improved in light of operational experience and user feedback. The latest versions of the documents can be found at www.bute-park.com 2.7 Sport and recreation use Bute Park has significant sporting infrastructure in its northern section around Blackweir Fields. There is a Changing Room block servicing the pitches comprising 9 Male and 2 Female rooms, showers and toilets with disability access. The changing rooms are used by sports clubs, leagues and park users on a formal and informal basis. They are also well utilised for hosting community, charity and major events including National and International events. There is an external Public Convenience attached to the changing room block. The sporting use of Bute Park provides an important management context for the site.



2.7.1 Use of Blackweir Sports Pitches Football Blackweir has 3 football pitches which are used between September – May to accommodate league fixtures and cup games. It is worth noting that the season can extend depending on the number of cancelled fixtures during the winter season due to inclement weather. There are no traditional “Home” Football teams other than regular midweek fixtures for Cardiff University Students. However, fixtures are allocated to the site by the leagues as follows: Cardiff Combination league Cardiff & District mini’s league Cardiff & District Junior league Lazarou Sunday League Mini and Junior fixtures take place between 10:00- 12:00. Senior fixtures kick off 2:00pm. The Lazarou Sunday morning league kicks off at 10:30am. A Games Attendant is provided for the Senior Football Fixtures, there is no requirement for junior and mini changing facilities. There have been some historical issues relating to plastic bottles at the site left after matches but this has been partly mitigated by the presence of the Games Attendant (GA) on site. Nevertheless it is still reported as an issue from time to time and should be kept under review. There previously was an issue with unauthorised use by the University but this is reported by the Sport Cardiff Manager to now be resolved. Rugby There are 3 Rugby pitches which are used between Sept – April. The various rugby clubs participate in the WRU regional league at various levels of the pyramid structure. Two teams use the grounds as their home pitches: St Joe’s RFC (Seniors and Youth) St Peter’s RFC Matches are played on Saturday for senior and Youth rugby at 2.30pm. St Josephs are key holders and therefore there is no requirement for a GA Cricket



There are 4 cricket wickets, which are used between May - September. These are used by the Cardiff Mid-Week League, Willow League and the Church League, Monday to Friday from 6.00pm until dusk. Saturday Senior League matches played (40 over), games commence at 12.00pm. There is no requirement for changing rooms from the leagues playing mid-week, however we do have requests ad hoc for a GA on Saturday. Park locking has been a recurring issue particularly early and late season when the evenings are darker earlier. 2.7.2 Cardiff Park Run Cardiff Park Run is a 5K run managed and organized by volunteers and is free of charge for those who register their interest. Participants are provided with a bar code and their times are recorded electronically and uploaded to the Park Run website. Cardiff Park Run is now one of the most popular courses in the UK with numbers regularly exceeding 500. Park Run takes places every Saturday at 9.00am and finishes at 10.30. Participants take advantage of the retail park on Western Avenue for Parking and facilities and commence their run from the North end of the Park, see the Course page on the website http://www.parkrun.org.uk/cardiff/course/ for more details. The volume of runners at the start time has been an issue in the past and has been mitigated by a staggered start time, the Council are also considering another venue in the city in order to disperse numbers to two sites and allow the run to continue to grow. 2.7.3 Pedal Power The charity Pedal Power are based in premises adjacent to Cardiff Caravan site and use Bute Park to provide people with physical and learning disabilities the opportunity to safely cycle for health, fitness and recreation using modified bicycles. Unmodified bikes are also available for general hire from the site. Introduction of the park’s cafés has been popular with these groups who regularly stop in as part of their journey. The Pedal Power premises are sign-posted from the park.



2.7.4 Military Preparation College Bute Park is well used by students of the Military Preparation College, an organisation established in 1999 to provide military fitness, knowledge and skills to 16 – 18 year olds interested in pursuing a military or public services career. With premises on Dumballs Rd, Bute Park is a convenient location for the students to undertake physical activity, team building and community service activities. The MD of the Military Preparation College is also the MD of the Summerhouse and Secret Garden Cafés which further strengthens the relationship and would support closer partnership working with the council in the future. 2.7.5 Regular annual sport events Bute Park is very popular venue for sports events such as mass participation charity runs, walks and cycles. In 2014, 21 such events took place in the park and varied from less than 100 to over a thousand participants/spectators. The location and scale of infrastructure associated with these events varies as does the impact to everyday park users. The most common issues are conflict on paths between event participants and other park users and damage to the fabric of the park caused either by the participants themselves, e.g. running over soft ground and causing the ground to become muddy, and/or by the events associated infrastructure – e.g. catering and production vehicles. It will be a challenge for the Park Manager to balance the competing needs and wants of the different user groups in the park, and they will work with event organisers to adopt a continuous improvement approach to holding regular/annual events in order to learn lessons and reduce impact wherever possible. Sporting events are treated in the same way as other events in the park and are managed through the same booking process which is coordinated by the Park Manager. 2.7.6 Key holder arrangements St Joe’s RFC are currently key holders of Blackweir Changing Rooms. A copy of the key holder agreement is provided in Appendix 3 . Section 6 provides further information and location plans of the sports facilities on site and describes how they are maintained. This information is also included in the Blackweir Sports Pitches area management schedule in Appendix 2i. 2.8 Relationship with Cardiff Castle The land now known as Bute Park was formerly the property of the Marquesses of Bute and a significant part of the area formed the formal grounds of Cardiff Castle. There is therefore a strong historic relationship between the two sites.



There are many examples of joint house and garden attractions in the UK so the relationship is also an intuitive one from a customer’s point of view. However the relationship between the two venues is slightly complicated by the fact Cardiff Castle is a paid for visitor attraction and Bute Park is a free to access public park. Nevertheless, coordinating the management and operation of Cardiff Castle and Bute Park has been a long standing ambition of the Council. The approved purposes of grants towards the restoration of Cardiff Castle and Bute Park mean the Heritage Lottery Fund also have a direct interest in encouraging appropriate public access and visitor management between the castle and park. The Bute Park HLF grant award contract contained the clause “Within three months of the date of the Grant, you will send to us for approval, detailed arrangements for a formal, co-ordinated management service for both Cardiff Castle and the Property. Thereafter you will implement the approved arrangements.” A statement of intent was submitted to HLF in 2009 to satisfy the clause. Cardiff Castle and Bute Park are now both within the Sport, Leisure and Culture directorate, which is helpful in supporting management coordination between the two sites. A revised statement on the joint working arrangements between the two sites is set out in Appendix 4 and updates the present position and aspirations of the Council. The Bute Park Development Plan contains an objective and the specific actions to this end. 2.9 Anti-social behaviour The Urban Ranger service within parks is the team specifically tasked with dealing with anti-social behaviour and crime at an appropriate level. However it should be noted that all staff working on site are expected to take personal responsibility and appropriate action for incidents they are a personal witness to. Incidents are recorded in the ranger's personal pocket 'pace' note books and also in the on-site diary. These are classed as legal binding documents and will be kept for five years and then destroyed.

2.9.1 Dog fouling The Ranger Supervisor organises dog fouling patrols by the Urban Ranger Team, 12 out of 16 of who have the appropriate training to issue fines and enforce the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. These are organised on a priority basis across the city based on the number of complaints received for individual sites (which normally come into the service area via Connect 2 Cardiff (C2C) or Docu Flow, the document management system used by Parks) and via Ranger intelligence gathering through face to face contact. The Urban Rangers cannot issue a fine based on second hand information but the



Ranger issuing the fine have to witness the incident themselves. Only one complaint about Dog Fouling has been recorded in Bute Park in 14/15 so this element of ASB is not a significant issue for the park. The current Fixed Penalty Notice fine for dog fouling is £80 and numbers are recorded and collated by the Council's enforcement team. The rangers also try to proactively combat dog fouling through education work with the public.

2.9.2 Drug and alcohol use and anti-social litter

Bute Park, like any urban park, experiences a certain level of drug and alcohol use which generates litter classified as 'anti-social' (as opposed to general litter), the most problematic of which are needles and used condoms. The Urban Ranger team record the quantity of this litter and the locations in which it was found on a daily basis. This information is held in the on-site diary. In preparation of this management plan, a review of the information held for 2014 was made and the results are presented in Table 1 below.

Item Quantity Known 'hot -spot' locations

Needles Jan 21 Feb 0 Mar 9 Apr 10 May13 Jun 3 Jul 27 Aug 34 Sept 26+full sharps box Oct to date: 9+full sharps box

The Back of the Animal Wall Shrubs and trees at the sunken lawn, Underneath the new bridge Woods along North road.

Total 152 + 2 sharps boxes sharp boxes hold 20 needles so total 172 Condoms Jan 13

Feb 0 Mar 0 Apr 14 May 10 Jun 20 Jul 75 Aug 43 Sept 80 Oct to date: 9

The same as the hot spots for needles

Total 275 Table 1 - Summary of anti-social litter recorded for Bute Park between the periods 1st Jan - 15th Oct 2014 It should be noted that this data represents the minimum actual amount as not all incidents of collection will be recorded, e.g. if they are carried out by members of staff not part of the Urban Ranger team. The Urban Rangers tackle this litter reactively by patrolling the known hot-spots on a daily basis and removing the litter using appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In reality, this simply involves using sharps bins, or any receptacle that can be sealed such as a pop bottle. Standard PPE are



safety boots/shoes and gloves. Litter pickers are used for hard to reach needles in bushes. The Urban Rangers tackle this litter proactively by partnering with the police and organisations such as the Cardiff Needle Exchange Project.

2.9.3 Unauthorised camping and rough sleeping Again like any urban park, Bute Park experiences a level of unauthorised camping and rough sleeping. The level of this activity ranges from year to year. Rough sleepers tend to be from a transient group and move from city to city, a view supported by the Council’s Outreach Team and the Police. Some rough sleepers are alcohol and drug dependant and some have mental health problems. Government figures suggest that more than half of Britain’s rough sleeper population could be ex-soldiers suffering from PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder. The Urban Rangers monitor sites as part of their regular patrols and work closely with the Police and Council’s Outreach Team who may be looking for missing persons. Homeless people are periodically removed from the park, which can be a complex multi-agency task. The Development Plan sets out further plans for tackling anti-social behaviour. The 2007 Bute Park Management Plan contained a 30 page ‘Crime and anti-social behaviour framework’ appendix. An action has been included in the new Development Plan to review this document and include an update in the new Management Plan in due course. 2.10 Local government austerity There will be unprecedented levels of budget cuts within Cardiff Council over the coming years. The current projection is for £124m savings over the next three financial years, which is on the back of the £130m savings already made over the last 6 years. The Council commenced a 3 year Organisational Development Programme in May 2014 to reduce costs, improve organisational performance and outcomes for customers, and continue to develop Cardiff as Europe’s most liveable city based on cooperative Council principles. The Organisational Development Programme contains the following paragraph under the Sport Leisure and Culture Directorate (which contains the Parks Service): Sport, Leisure & Culture – For these discretionary services which provide a real richness to the quality of life in Cardiff, there are well established private and third sector markets for provision which would allow outcomes to be



sustained at reduced cost to the council. As such, a plan is in development to evaluate and determine the most appropriate future delivery model. The outcome of appraisals of potential future delivery models for all, or parts of the Parks Service will continue to provide an important management context for Bute Park over the life of the Management Plan. It is unlikely there will be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to the future delivery of Parks Services but it is too early to say at this stage what future models will be implemented for the service. During the life of the Management Plan the Council may be subject to a merger with a neighbouring local authority. The Williams Commission report published Jan 2014 made 62 recommendations, including proposals for local government reorganisation in Wales through the merger of local authorities. The Welsh Government published a White Paper in July 2014 setting out proposals for local government in Wales which would reduce the number of councils from the existing 22 to a preferred number of 12. This included the proposed merger of the City of Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Councils. The current expectation is that the City of Cardiff Council would seek a voluntary merger (by 1st April 2018), or face a compulsory merger (by 1st April 2020), with the Vale of Glamorgan Council. It is too early to say what Cardiff Council’s preferred route is or whether they will make a case for an alternative based on exceptional circumstances. The evolution of discussions and decisions on local government reorganisation will provide another important management context for Bute Park over the life of the Management Plan. 2.11 Commercial considerations and business plan Bute Park has a new business plan to accompany this management plan (Appendix 12 ), which helps provide the financial context. The business plan covers the budget which was created specifically to support the increased maintenance and management costs associated with the developments and improvements made during the HLF Restoration Project. It does not include all of the park’s maintenance costs, many of which are contained within service-wide budgets. It is likely that the park will have to become increasingly commercially minded in the face of likely reductions in core budgets and it will be important to strike the right balance between this and protecting the integrity of the park’s character. Further commentary on the business plan is given in Section 11 .



3.0 The vision for Bute Park 3.1 Assessment and analysis

3.1.1 SWOT analyses A range of detailed SWOT analyses were conducted to inform this version of the Management Plan and take stock at the juncture of the Bute Park restoration project closure and ‘business as usual’. The details of these are provided below and contained within subsequent appendices a) Whole Park SWOT analysis A whole park SWOT analysis was undertaken by Parks Service Officers involved in the maintenance and management of Bute Park and takes into account of views expressed in recent consultations. Contributors were: Julia Sas [Project Manager/ Bute Park Manager], Jon Green [Senior Landscape Officer], Emma Knight [Project/Programme Support Officer], Rosie James [Principal Landscape Officer], Mark Tozer [Parks Development Officer], Rob Jones [Area Grounds Maintenance Manager], Will Power [Senior Supervisor], Adrian Jones [Team Leader, Parks Development], Nicola Hutchinson [Parks Conservation Officer], Kevin Date [Community Ranger], Richie Collins [Head Urban Ranger]. Informal conversations were held with a number of operational staff and their views were also captured. This SWOT analysis is provided in Appendix 5a . Additionally, four public consultation events were run at the Bute Park Education Centre during September where concession holder staff, members of the friends group and the general public were all invited to contribute their general views about Bute Park. The feedback from these sessions has been compiled verbatim in Appendix 5b . Topics or comments raised or repeated by the public are highlighted in bold in the main whole park SWOT analysis in Appendix 5a . b) Event Space and Event Management SWOT analysis A specific SWOT analysis of the site’s event spaces and event use was conducted in consultation with members of the Council’s Events Team who have significant experience and involvement in Bute Park events. Contributors were: Julia Sas [Project Manager], Matthew Faulkner [Senior Production Manager], Julie Towson [Parks Event Coordinator], and some Site Supervisors. This SWOT analysis is provided in Appendix 6a . Additionally, an e-mail was circulated to the mailing list of regular or recent event organisers requesting their feedback as users of the site. The responses to this e-mail has been compiled verbatim in Appendix 6b. Topics or comments raised or repeated by the event organisers are highlighted in bold in the main event SWOT analysis in Appendix 6a .



c) Education Centre and Education & Outreach Progra mme SWOT

A specific SWOT analysis of the Bute Park Education Centre and education & outreach programme was conducted by Officers who have worked at the Education Centre or had involvement in the Education & Outreach Programme. Contributors were: Julia Sas [Project Manager], Emma Knight [Project/Programme Support Officer], Meriel Jones [Education and Outreach Officer] and Keith Maxwell [Front of House]. This SWOT analysis is provided in Appendix 7a Additionally, four public consultation events were run at the Bute Park Education Centre during September where concession holder staff, members of the friends group and the general public were all invited to contribute their specific views about the Bute Park Education Centre and education & outreach programme. The feedback from these sessions has been compiled verbatim in Appendix 7b . Topics or comments raised or repeated by the public are highlighted in bold in the Bute Park Education Centre and education & outreach programme park SWOT analysis in Appendix 7a . d) Blackweir Changing Rooms SWOT A specific SWOT analysis of the Blackweir Changing Rooms and their use was conducted by Officers involved in their maintenance and management. Contributors were: Julia Sas [Project Manager], Adam Beach [Sport and Facilities Manager], Steve Morris [Sports Development Manager], Helen Morgan [Senior Bookings Officer]. This SWOT analysis is provided in Appendix 8 . Users of the facility have not been contacted for their feedback but this will be inserted as an action in the Development plan. e) Castle Nursery SWOT A SWOT analysis of the castle nursery was not done in preparation of this version of the Management Plan but rather will be inserted as a future action of the Development Plan. This will allow it to take into account the results of a recent service review that indicates costs for the production of bedding plant material is greater when compared to the costs of buying in material from external sources and that some opportunities exist for trading. In view of this Parks Service has been tasked with exploring alternative delivery models for the service provision 3.1.2 Consultation feedback

In summer 2014 the Parks Service carried out direct consultation with users of Bute Park using the online Survey Monkey tool. The consultation was promoted through on site posters and social media channels, 337 surveys were returned. A copy of the questionnaire and the responses is provided at Appendix 9 . Findings from this survey were used to inform the SWOT analyses.



Bute Park is fortunate to have benefitted from a period of detailed and regular user consultation conducted as part of the restoration project. Surveys (face-to-face and online) were conducted by the Council’s research centre in winter 2010, summer 2011, winter 2011, summer 2012, spring 2013 and autumn 2013. Surveys included standard repeated questions to allow trend analysis and provide comparative data with other parks and also featured specific questions gathering opinion or measuring satisfaction on particular aspects of the project. The numbers of respondents to these surveys were consistently high and the survey reports are all available for review by staff on request. A final restoration project evaluation report has been commissioned but capacity issues within the Council’s research team have prevented its completion to date and options for outsourcing the work are being explored. This report will pull together findings from previous surveys, provide trend analysis and measure the success and impact of the restoration project. A piece of detailed consultation was also carried out in summer 2004 to inform the restoration project and this provides the pre-project baseline data. This report is also available on request.

3.1.3 Professional feedback

The feedback received from Green Flag and Green Heritage Site evaluation visits 2014 also provides context for management and potential drivers for the contents of the site Development Plan. The Green Flag award feedback is included in Appendix 10a and the Green Heritage Site feedback is included in Appendix 10b

3.2 Mission statement Using the direction provided by the SWOT analyses, context for

management, public consultation and professional feedback, the following vision statement for the park 2015-2020 has been agreed.

We will maintain Bute Park & Arboretum as a high qu ality visitor destination and flag-ship city park. We will protec t the legacy of the HLF restoration project by embedding sustainabl e maintenance & management within available resources . We will develop opportunities and partnerships to achieve o ur potential.

3.3 Aims and objectives



The aims of the management plan reflect the findings of the SWOT analyses and consultation and are presented under four strategic themes (aims) which link, albeit with minor modification, to those of the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy (sustainable management, quality, opportunity and people).

Objectives have been developed as initial drivers to take this park in the right direction. Actions under these aims and objectives are contained within the park’s Development Plan. The full park Development Plan and action plan is provided at Appendix 1 . Aim 1 Sustainable Management - To embed effective processes and procedures to build resilience and secure the legacy of the HLF restoration project. Objectives to support aim:

• Ensure effective knowledge transfer from project to “business as usual”

• Maintain the integrity of heritage features and the historic landscape by documenting standards, constraints, issues and aspirations that will ensure effective and appropriate site management

• Ensure the park is financially sustainable and the budget is effectively managed, within the constraints of the business plan

• Ensure there is a process of continuous appraisal, review and improvement of existing management practices

• Ensure the work outstanding from the restoration project is completed appropriately

• Ensure coordinated working with Cardiff Castle in all aspects of common operation between the two sites. Ensure the coordinated working achieves equal protection of the two site’s respective interests and adds value to the Castle and Bute Park visitor

Aim 2 Quality - To achieve a consistently high quality experience of our various visitors to the park and maintain our standing as a top class visitor destination and flag-ship city centre park Objectives to support aim:

• To manage and develop the arboretum in an appropriate manner and communicate the asset to the public and staff

• Maintain and develop the quality of the horticultural content within the park

• Provide a high quality visitor experience by getting the basics right, and identify, understand and respond to issues having a negative effect on user experience



Aim 3 Opportunity - To develop the potential of Bute Park, build on success and continue to drive the park forward in an appropriate direction based on the needs and aspirations of our users, sound management principles and our available resources Objectives to support aim:

• Further develop the tourist potential of Bute Park • Utilise partners to achieve Management Plan actions and

objectives under the themes of: conservation and improvement of biodiversity, horticultural work, and general site maintenance and upkeep

• Identify common aims with other teams within Cardiff Council, the third sector and adjacent land owners and undertake collaborative working for mutual benefit

• Further improve the accessibility of Bute Park. Identify and break down barriers against use by specific user groups

• Further reduce the environmental impact of the site and the operations taking place within it

• Explore alternative delivery models for facilities in the park where management data and Council decisions support the need to do so

Aim 4 People - Put park users at the heart of all we do and provide them with education and recreational opportunities that are fit-for-purpose and maximise the learning and enjoyment potential of Bute Park. Recognise that staff and volunteers are a hugely valuable asset and support their development to achieve our potential Objectives to support aim:

• Ensure we have a group of effective volunteers to support in our delivery of Management Plan objectives

• Provide a programme of events and activities linked to the park that are fun and help increase learning and understanding of the site

• Respond positively to requests for work experience and training placements and accommodate/develop opportunities as resources allow

• Utilise Bute Park as a key part of the Parks Service apprenticeship scheme for the benefit of both the apprentices and standards of site maintenance

• Use Bute Park as an educational resource for Cardiff school children. Link with wider work across the service area and ensure the approach is clear to the user and strategic



4.0 Delivery framework 4.1 Responding to the aims of the management plan Bute Park is a large and complex site affected by a variety of issues

(relationship with wider city centre and Cardiff Castle, major event use, shared use path issues, anti-social behaviour, restricted opening hours, presence of concessions and working plant nursery, diverse and sometimes competing/conflicting uses etc.)

Fundamental to the success of the management plan is to understand and respond appropriately to change. Landscape is a dynamic environment which is constantly changing due to plant growth, animal intervention, the impact of weather and climate and (not least) as a result of human activity. It is therefore not possible to determine that a landscape is ever ‘complete’. Landscape design intentions may be achieved through construction, but they can only be sustained through continuous intervention and management.

The impact of change on the park – environmental, social and economic, underpins the maintenance and management plan. The relevant issues are interpreted and addressed through a framework of 6 key themes which provide the basic structure for the rest of the Management Plan as follows: • Management structure and workforce • Park infrastructure • Park environment • Movement and access • People and partnerships • Information management • Achieving the goal and measuring success

4.2 Developing the approach Bute Park is a large, complex site with a number of different character

areas and a wide range of uses. The differing (often competing) demands and pressures put on the park makes a single approach to its management unsuitable. Rather, the park is managed on an area-by-area basis, under the strategic guidance of the over-arching management plan. This has been taken to a new level of detail in this version of the plan, as documented in Appendices A-K .

The approach to Bute Park’s management is a consultative one since there are so many different stakeholders and user groups, and the challenge is to understand and satisfy these while maintaining the integrity of the site and its designations and significance. By actively consulting and communicating with the park’s various stakeholders it is



hoped the site will gain increased resilience against the resource constraints that will likely be a feature of this plan period. The approach is to provide good quality site and management information in order to enable an increasingly diverse group of people to support the effective maintenance and management of the site. However, the need for the Parks Department to hold the “casting vote” on any new interventions proposed is clearly stated, and the management plan action plan’s annual review cycle (coordinated by the Bute Park Manager) provides a formal mechanism for considering and agreeing changes based on stakeholder feedback.

4.3 Quality assurance and continuous improvement The park is managed by a dedicated site manager who has ultimate

accountability for the success of the maintenance and management plan.

The Bute Park Manager will ensure there is a process of continuous

appraisal, review and improvement of existing management practices. They will ensure this by:

• Undertaking an annual review of the Management Plan action

plan in consultation with action owners and addressing the following questions: What progress has been made? Is the action still open or can it be closed? What new or revised actions need to go into the new annual action plan?

• Undertaking an annual review of the area-by-area management documents. Addressing the following questions: Are the management practices still achievable within available resources? Are the management practices meeting the desired outcomes? What updates/changes are required?

• Undertake annual review of the arboretum collection addressing

the questions: What trees have been lost from the collection in the last year? What tree works have taken place? What tree works have been procured from the tree wish list? Are records up to date (area by area schedules and database)? Does the tree wish list need revising/adding to? Have future tree works been scheduled/procured?

• Undertaking an annual review of the Bute Park specific

operational risk assessment schedule in consultation with colleagues, addressing the questions: Are all risk assessments up to date? What revisions/additions are needed? Do any new risk assessments need to be added?



• Undertaking an annual review of the park’s Risk Register addressing the questions: Are all the risks still open or can any be closed? Do the owners of any of the risks need to change? Are the ratings of documented risks still appropriate? Do any new risks need to be added and what is the appropriate rating?

• Undertaking an annual review of the park’s Issue Log

addressing the questions: What are the trends of identified issues? Are they getting worse? Better? What actions are reasonable to implement (as part of the action plan) to address the identified issues given the available resources?

• Undertaking monthly monitoring of the maintenance and

management plan budget (CP603) addressing the questions: Are there miss coding’s that need to be rectified? Do income entries for events and use of the education centre reconcile back to our management records? Where are we exceeding cost or income budgets? What are the financial pressures in the budget and how can they be managed? Is the budget being managed to ensure best use of resources?

• Holding quarterly meetings with the Bute Park concession

holders addressing the questions: What are current satisfaction levels of concession customers? What are current satisfaction levels of the concession operators themselves? Are the concession holders complying with the terms of their lease and their statutory requirements? What actions can be implemented to address any identified issues? What opportunities are there for further improvements in our working arrangements? What opportunities are there for further improvements to our customer offer?

• Seeking feedback from event organisers who use Bute Park to

answer the questions: What are the things that work well and are valued by event organisers? What are the things that don’t work well and could be improved? Are events being managed in a way that strikes the right balance between protection of the park’s fabric, the need to generate income from events and the needs of the everyday park user?

The Bute Park Manager will take action as necessary once these questions have been answered. Section 11 ‘Achieving the goal and measuring success’ further sets out how performance will be monitored and managed.



4.4 Risk Register Following best practise and in line with the Council’s PQA (Project

Quality Assurance) approach it is important to have an appreciation of the risks associated with the successful delivery of the management plan and developing appropriate strategies to manage the risks. A full Risk Register for the park is provided in Appendix 11 which also indicates how these risks are being managed.

4.5 Issue Log The Park Manager will create and maintain an Issue Log for the park

so there is a single reference document capturing the issues affecting the park and providing quantitative data to support management. The issue log will collate statistics on the following:

• Levels of anti-social behaviour and associated litter • Numbers and topics of complaints and enquires (received

formally and ad hoc) • Type and numbers of Fixed Penalty Notices issued by the

ranger service • Bute Park user figures from people counter data and any

identified issues affecting numbers 4.6 Getting the basics right

In addition to the actions within the development plan, it is important that the Bute Park Manager has an interest in getting the everyday basics right. This will include things like:

Ensure all site notice boards are professionally presented and up-to-date, including posters displayed in all toilets. Ensure our communication channels are clear and meet the needs of our users. Do park users know how to report issues/provide feedback and do we communicate outcomes? Ensure our on-line information is up-to-date and meets the needs of our users, including ensuring we communicate our achievements against this plan There is an action within the development plan to hold a session with staff to identify what these ‘basics’ are and how we can establish and maintain processes to ensure we get them right.



4.7 Adding to the knowledge base There is already good collated documentary information about the development of the site, which was researched and compiled during the development and implementation of the restoration project. This information is held in the following documents, which are accessible from a Parks Service shared electronic computer drive (the Bute Park Manager can sign post people to the documents as necessary):

• Bute Park Restoration & Development Plan, March 2005 • Tree Management, A strategic overview, October 2007 • Archaeological reports

o Bute Park Cardiff - Archaeological Geophysical survey, September 2004

o Bute Park archaeological assessment – desk based assessment, October 2004

o Bute park Cardiff – Archaeological evaluation, November 2004

o Blackfriars, Bute park - Archaeological evaluation report, May 2012

o Blackfriars, Bute park - Archaeological watching brief report, March 2014

o Mill Leat, Bute park - Archaeological assessment report February 2014

• Bute Park A-Z Manual, 2014 It is anticipated that the knowledge base about the site’s history and tree collection will continue to grow and develop as staff, volunteers and others continue to research and produce new resources to aid in site interpretation. New additions to the knowledge base will be included in later editions of the Management Plan. As the process of unravelling the site history is still ongoing it also offers opportunities for degree level coursework and post graduate research and is particularly valuable to historians and academics.



5. Management structure and training 5.1 General principles 5.1.1 Understanding change It is important that those involved in the activity of maintaining and

managing historic parks are aware of the history of and intentions for the park (historic elements, significance of the site as a whole, landscape structure etc.) and the potential impact on the park of external influences such as anti-social behaviour, changing use patterns, increased pressure of use from events and variations in weather patterns and climate.

5.1.2 Flexibility There needs to be a simple, flexible and robust management structure

for the park in order to be able to withstand ongoing Council-wide changes of structure and respond to change within the park. Ultimately, a flexible approach to roles and responsibilities will also be encouraged within the site based staff structure in order to maximise the benefit of in house skills and expertise.

5.1.3 Management framework There needs to be a clear understanding of the management structure

and delegated authority amongst all who have involvement in the park. This designated overall Park Manager will need to be aware of all issues related to the park and will have ultimate responsibility for delivery and development of the maintenance and management plan for the site.

5.2 Management structure 5.2.1 Current position Bute Park is unique in Cardiff for having a dedicated Park Manager.

This was a new post introduced in 2014 and the post-holder will provide the energy, effort and leadership required to manage the site in the post-restoration project era. The Park Manager will not have direct line management responsibilities for all staff involved in maintenance and management in Bute Park, but rather will be expected to achieve success through matrix management arrangements and the strength and effectiveness of their personal relationships.

The current management structure for Bute Park (2014) is illustrated in

Figure 2 , below.



5.2.2 Service Delivery Teams Figure 2 summarises the functions of the service delivery teams

operating in Bute Park. In reality the lines dividing responsibility and function can be far more blurred as the park operates on a team approach. Staff in different teams help each other out to ensure the job gets done and so people’s unique skills are utilised effectively. Such an approach is now increasingly important as capacity to fulfil the park’s maintenance and management requirements gets limited by further reductions in staff levels, which makes managing sickness, annual leave and vacated posts a significant challenge.

Volunteers and partner agencies are an important compliment to the

paid team but are necessarily reliant on the leadership and management of the Council’s paid workforce to achieve their potential and the requirements of the management plan.

Any barriers to team and collaborative working will have to be broken

down further in order to provide the park with resilience and ensure its continued success. The area-by-area working model as recorded and communicated in Appendix 2 is designed to support this.

5.2.3 Future staffing aspirations Bute Park has achieved a robust staffing structure to manage the park

in the post-restoration project era. Appendix 12 sets out the funding arrangements for key staff over the life of the 10 year HLF business plan.

The Bute Park Manager is tasked with improving staff and

management arrangements in the future and reacting to any changes to wider service area staffing levels, e.g. in light of future Council budget reductions.

The service area philosophy that site-based staff will bring added

benefits to service standards remains, and any opportunities to move further towards this ideal will be pursued.

Recruitment and empowerment of the volunteer workforce will continue

as an objective. 5.2.4 Dealing with emergencies Routine problem reporting and responses are handled through

established management procedures and normal health and safety procedures, all staff on site have either a phone or radio and can call for help or the emergency services if required.



Under the Health and Safety at Work Act the Council is required to undertake risk assessments for operations which staff routinely undertake in the park. These are kept on the Council’s intranet site and reviewed and updated annually.

Contact details for the parks department are provided in park

noticeboards.



6 Park infrastructure 6.1 General principles The Park’s infrastructure includes its buildings and other structures,

artworks, hard surfaces, fencing and furniture. The principles for the management and maintenance of infrastructure will be to:

• Protect and conserve the character of infrastructure and its

contribution to the historic landscape and setting of the park • Maintain features to the highest possible standard. • Ensure that the site functions efficiently and fulfils the needs of

its users 6.1.1 Sustainable Design Sustainable development and operation are two key principles of the

Parks and Green Spaces Strategy therefore ensuring that site infrastructure is sustainable has been a key objective in the design and management of all buildings and hard landscaping in Bute Park. The following principles will continue to be applied, within the overarching constraints of the park’s historic character and the available budget:

• The Council will pursue standards of excellence in design • Recycled and locally sources materials will be used wherever

practical • Materials will be durable to maximise their lifespan • Opportunities to conserve energy consumption and minimise

carbon emissions will be maximised within the design and management of buildings and other on site features.

6.1.2 Inspection Regime Daily inspections are undertaken cursorily by site based staff to identify

obvious problems and damage and to ensure that repairs can be carried out as swiftly as possible following their detection. General inspections are undertaken annually to monitor condition. Detailed inspections are undertaken once every five years. There is a need to formalise the reporting structure through the Park Manager to ensure items are actioned

6.1.3 Asset Repair and Renewal The maintenance budgets for the parks buildings and assets, are set

out in the Bute park Business plan. Responsibility for any repairs or maintenance to the assets outside the scope of the budgets identified within the business plan, and not subject to a lease agreement, is held



by Park Services with the exception of the changing rooms at Blackfriars and the Castle Nursery complex which are held by the Council’s Facilities management Service. These budgets are used for all running repairs; any major works require a bidding process for Capital contributions.

Repair and renewal work is undertaken in accordance with the following principles: • Repair and renewal work will be undertaken using only approved

materials and methods. • Payment for repair and renewal work will only be made following

an inspection of the works by a qualified member of staff and confirmation that they meet the required standards.

• Repair work will only be carried out by Council Staff or appointed contractors with proven expertise and capability.

6.2 Buildings and Structures

The section details all existing built structures/facilities contained in the park and the numbers in brackets relate to the preceding site plans indicating their location in the park. Some buildings are managed by external parties through concessions agreements and are staffed during official opening times that will be specified within concessions contracts, the Council retains ownership of these buildings and therefore responsibility for the capital works which these buildings may require.

6.2.1 Building Management

The Bute Park Manager will be the building duty manager and it is their responsibility to ensure compliance with statutory and agreed maintenance requirements either through their own action or the actions of others. All the requirements for the routine and cyclical maintenance and management operations for all the buildings in the park are detailed in the Bute park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13.

The Council has achieved Level 3 certification under the Green Dragon

Environmental Management scheme. Environmental management systems are in place for each of the buildings within the site, as part of the Council’s progression through the Green Dragon scheme.

The monitored environmental management systems will include:

• Water use management • Use of re-cycled paper • Waste paper collection and re-cycling • Waste plastic, glass and can collection and re-cycling • Cardboard collection and re-cycling



• Heating system management • Lighting management – switching off lights etc

Ensuring the Environmental Management Systems are monitored will

be the responsibility of the Park Manager. Appropriate training and information will be provided for all personnel involved in the operational use of buildings within the park, including concession holders.

a) West Lodge/Pettigrew Tearooms

Located adjacent the West Gate entrance to the park the grade II* listed lodge was completed in 1863. Built in the gothic style in blue lias limestone with bath stone detailing the building was fully restored and refurbished as part of the heritage lottery project and opened to the public, as the now very popular Victorian themed Pettigrew tearooms, in 2012. The building houses the tearooms and associated kitchens, a small shop, a gallery space (incorporated into the 1st floor seating area) office space and publically accessible toilets in the courtyard. Externally there is a disabled access ramp to the rear of the building and a large external seating area with cycle racks and litter bins The building and its environs are generally in very good condition, there is some outstanding window repairs required on the ground floor following a break in in 2013, and ongoing maintenance and clearance of the parapet roof gutters is required to prevent water penetration during heavy rainfall. The external step edges occasionally work loose and need re fixing periodically. A significant interior feature is the tiled floor which re uses original Victorian tiles recovered from the Blackfriars friary site. The Victorian tiles are based on the designs of medieval tiles discovered during the original 19th century excavations at Blackfriars. The Concession holder is responsible for the day to day management of the facility and the public toilets in the external courtyard.



Plate 3: West lodge/Pettigrew tearooms b) The Summerhouse Cafe Constructed and opened in 2010 as part of the Heritage Lottery project this facility is inspired by and echoes the style of the original William Burgess designed summerhouse that was lost from the park in the 1980’s. It provides a focus at one of the busiest entrances and path junctions in the park and provides external seating space adjacent the herbaceous border. The building has been designed to withstand and minimise the impact of a 100yr flood event in the park. The building is timber frame construction with the lower section clad in dressed sandstone recycled from a demolished nearby derelict toilet block. Timber detailing on the gable ends and on the facia boards reflect elements of the former summerhouse. The roof is natural slate. Unfortunately the lead flashing details have had to be replaced with a non-lead alternative following several thefts of lead from the building. The building contains kitchen, storage and serving space, disabled toilet facilities (radar key access only), covered external immediately around the building (enclosed by solid shutters at night) and an external seating area, with cycle racks nearby. The concession holder is responsible for the day to day management of the facility including the disabled toilets (radar key access). Due to site constraints the toilets have controlled access to limit their use and are not available to the general public. There are some issues around disabled access to the toilets resulting from the operation of the concession which may be addressed with additional paving to provide a wider path to the toilets from the adjacent main paths.



The building is in very good condition with some redecoration required to the security shutters, removal and timber cladding of the canopy support posts following graffiti removal and minor impact damage. The paving around the building is generally in good condition with some loose slabs and missing pointing requiring attention.

Plate 4: The Summerhouse Café

c) Secret Garden Cafe Constructed and opened in 2012 as an integral part of the education centre the secret garden café provides refreshment facilities, at the northern end of the park and catering to the education centre. Accessed through ‘The Peoples door’ The café consists of a separate kitchen, storage and serving area as part of the main education building with associated external public toilets accessible from the courtyard, a bin store and separate storage areas in adjacent Nursery compound through a secure, controlled access door. External spaces consist of a small courtyard seating area, contained within the walled garden of the Nursery complex and a larger external space linked to the adjacent Stuttgart garden which incorporates fixed seating and picnic benches, cycle racks are provided on the adjacent main path along with additional picnic benches on the nearby riverbank. The concession holder is responsible for the day to day management of the facility including the public toilets (including those in the Education Centre). There are issues around the management of access through ‘the Peoples door’ to the café and the education centre. Management of



the secure access through to the nursery compound is also an ongoing issue (shared with parks services staff). The building is in very good condition. There are a number of outstanding issues associated with the original construction contract that affect the quality of customer experience:

• Unpleasant smells from the sewage treatment plant used to handle the foul waste from the education centre and public toilets.

• Drip from canopy above serving hatch.

Discussions are ongoing with the principle contractor to resolve these issues. Unfortunately the lead flashing on the glazed street and the brise soleil has had to be replaced with a non-lead alternative following several thefts of lead from the building.

The paving in the courtyard and in the external seating area is generally in good condition with some loose slabs and missing pointing requiring attention.

Plate 5: Secret Garden Cafe d) Education Centre Constructed and opened in 2012 the education centre is designed to be a hidden feature in the park. The building sits behind a newly constructed southern wall of the walled garden that contains the nursery complex and is accessed via a single door the ‘People’s Door’. A ‘glazed street’ separates the main accommodation in the building



from the wall and provides natural daylight to penetrate the heart of the building. Glimpses of the external space from the glazed street are provided through three narrow slit windows. Constructed from concrete block and reclaimed brick the building is clad in Western Red Cedar with a brise soleil also of western Red Cedar. The flat roof is constructed of concrete bison beams and is partly covered with a green roof and solar PV panels. A feature of the building is the large windows and glazed sliding doors that afford views out into the adjacent working nursery complex. The building has been designed to withstand and minimise the impact of a 100yr flood event in the park. The education centre has achieved Level 4 certification under the Green Dragon Environmental Management scheme and incorporates many environmental features:

• High levels of insulation • High efficiency Gas boiler • Underfloor heating • Use of natural light • Sun tubes • Low energy sensor controlled lighting • Sensor controlled taps • Solar PV panels • Green roof • Sewage treatment plant • Passive ventilation

The main building provides the following accommodation and facilities:

• Large Class room (max 60) • Small meeting room max • Tea station • Glazed street and reception area • Office • Rangers mess room • Toilets • Storage rooms • Secret garden café (see 6.2.1c above ) • Enclosed external space overlooking the operational nursery

Ancillary buildings contain the following:

• Public toilets (see 6.2.1c above) • Storage rooms • Plant room • Workshop • Part of covered poly tunnel in the nursery complex.



Based at the education centre the Bute Park Manager is the duty holder for the day to day management of the building with the support of the Education officer. The Programme Support Officer will be partly based at the building and also assist with its management. The building fabric and internal decoration is generally in very good condition. There are a number of outstanding issues associated with the original construction contract that affect the quality of customer experience:

• Unpleasant smells from the sewage treatment plant used to handle the foul waste from the education centre and public toilets.

• Leak in the glazed roof. Discussions are ongoing with the principle contractor to resolve these issues.

Plate 6: Education Centre

e) Castle Nursery Complex

Established between 1910 and 1920 as the Bute Estate nursery it provided fruit and vegetables to Cardiff castle and the Bute estates in Scotland. It is currently the Councils operational nursery with plant production, propagation and holding facilities. The main red brick building complex houses the office, potting shed, chemical shed, flower room, mess room, boiler room and toilets. A series of open side sheds along the western boundary provide covered storage. There are eight glasshouses, three poly tunnels, a derelict cold frame and storage



areas south of the offices with a holding area for nursery stock and parking north of the offices. Operations at the nursery include: Growing from seed and cuttings Propagation Potting on Production of approx. 400k seasonal bedding plants Receipt, Holding and distribution of approx. 50k potted and bare root nursery stock Storage and planting of seasonal bedding containers, Storage of equipment for the park. The office complex has had some external refurbishment in recent years with a new roof, windows and door and is generally in sound condition externally. Internally it is serviceable but in need of upgrading.

Plate 7: Castle nursery offices and storage sheds The open sheds are in serviceable condition with the northern end re roofed in 2012 to remove asbestos sheeting and southern end re built to accommodate toilets, storage, plant room and workshop associated with the education centre and Secret Garden Cafe. Three of the glasshouses are in good condition with the remaining five in poor condition. The climatic control system computer needs



upgrading; this has been hampered by procurement issues. Regular routine maintenance by a specialist contractor is required but hasn’t been carried out for a number of years. The complex is accessed through a new entrance created in 2010 via automatic gates. Despite numerous teething troubles with the gates they have been operating well for the last few years. They are in very good condition; however there is an issue with low resistance in the loop system which controls them requiring urgent attention to ensure their continued operation. There is a maintenance contract in place for the gates see Bute park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13 for details. The Nursery Manager is responsible for the day to day management of the Castle Nursery complex

Plate 8: Castle nursery buildings and Glasshouses

e) Blackweir Changing rooms Managed by the parks service outdoor leisure team the facilities serve the sports pitches at Blackweir. Constructed in red brick with slate tiled roof; the building houses men’s and women’s changing rooms, showers, toilets and a parks attendants office/mess. The interior of the changing rooms is in good decorative order following works to remove asbestos and redecoration during 2013. Externally the building is generally sound although there are some sections of missing/damaged rainwater goods, missing/damaged tiles on the roof, damaged sills, missing pointing and the windows are in need of repair or replacement. The Sports & Facilities Manager is responsible for the day to day management of the building and the booking of the sports pitches.



Plate 9: Blackweir Changing Rooms 6.2.2 Building Security

The park is locked during hours of darkness from 30 minutes before sunset until 7am when buildings will generally be closed. However, out of hours access to West Lodge is possible and is managed by the concession holder through the door to the shop off Castle Street. During the winter months there are extended opening hours on the Park entrances at either end of the east west cycle route across the park until 7pm to accommodate cycle and pedestrian commuters which means that the park is effectively open to all. New counters installed at all the entrances enable hourly statistics of park use to be calculated. These indicate that there is significant night-time activity within the park throughout the year supporting the previously anecdotal and physical evidence that this was the case. The Education and Training Centre does not currently operate outside the normal locking times of the park. This does cause issues during the winter months when the park closes as early as 15:45. As demand grows the practicality and security issues surrounding the management of access to the site after the park is closed will require further detailed consideration. West lodge and the Education centre are independently monitored by CCTV linked to recording systems at each facility allowing review of security footage. These are monitored in accordance with the Councils CCTV Policy & Code of Practice with the Bute Park Manager



designated as the ‘owner’ of the systems as defined by the policy and responsible for its correct use and management.

Monitored alarm systems linked to the BT redcare system are provided at West lodge, the Summerhouse, Education Centre, and the Castle Nursery complex. Details of the systems and their maintenance and management can be found in the Bute Park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13. In addition to the alarm systems physical security measures are incorporated at both two of the facilities:

• West lodge - internal security grills or shutters on all the ground floor and accessible windows of the main building and an external security grill on the door from Castle Street.

• Summerhouse Café – Security shutters enclose the entire exterior of the building.

6.2.3 Maintenance of building fabric The maintenance of buildings involves the following types of activities:

• Routine maintenance works (programmed operations undertaken one or more times per year).

• Periodic maintenance works - programmed operations undertaken at regular intervals as determined by inspection.

• Non programmed works – done reactively in response to urgent requirements.

• Non programmed works - responding to developing circumstances.

These inspections are undertaken by the respective team staff and specialist building surveyors as required. Other inspections include - • Asbestos log • Fire Risk Assessment • Legionella Inspection and Monitoring • Boiler Testing/Inspection ( Annual) • Fire Extinguisher Inspection (Annual) • Shutter Testing and Maintained (Annually) • Portable Appliance Tests • Fire Alarm and Security Testing (Annual) • Energy Efficiency Monitoring • Lifting Equipment Test • COSHH Assessment Full details of the programmed maintenance, inspections and testing for all the buildings and systems in the park can be found in Bute park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13.



6.2.4 Concessions There are 3 concessions operating in the park providing a range of

refreshment opportunities and experiences for the park visitor.

a) Pettigrew Tearooms: Established within the gothic West Lodge as a Victorian style tearoom with associated small shop and 1st floor gallery space, the tea rooms opened in April 2012. It has become a significant and popular venue within the park and provides the only indoor sitting space for refreshments with ground and first floor seating areas as well as a large external terrace with additional seating. The tea room has a separate access from Castle Street allowing the concession to remain open outside normal park opening times, particularly beneficial during the winter months when the Park closes at 15:30. It is also available for private hire. The concession is currently let on a 5 year lease, date 10th March 2012 and due for renewal in 2017. The operator manages the public toilets in the courtyard which are open to the public using the park as well as patrons of the tea rooms.

Plate 10: Pettigrew tea rooms

b) The Summerhouse Café The 1st concession established in the Park as a result of the Bute Park restoration project. At a busy junction The Summerhouse is a popular facility offering a wide range of quality refreshments.



Limited under cover seating is provided by the canopy around the building with a large external terrace and adjacent picnic benches providing additional seating space. The concession is currently let on a 5 year lease, date 29th May 2010 and due for renewal in May 2015. The operator manages the RADAR key accessible toilets associated with the facility (see 6.2.1b).

Plate 11: The Summerhouse Café

c) The Secret Garden Café The Secret Garden Café is located at the Bute Park education centre. It provides a wide range of quality refreshments and outdoor seating in a secluded courtyard or extensive external seating area adjacent the Stuttgart Garden. The concession is currently let on a 5 year lease, date 15th August 2011 and due for renewal in August 2016. The current operator also manages the concession at The Summerhouse and the two facilities share resources. They also provide an excellent and competitive catering service to the education centre for event bookings and assist with the management of the facility. The operator manages the public toilets in the courtyard and the education centre which are both open to the public using the park as well as patrons of the facilities.



Plate 12: Secret Garden Café The income generated by the concessions is built into the business plan for the park and supports its ongoing maintenance and management. Procurement of concessions is undertaken in accordance with existing guidelines under the Council’s Procurement procedures following the advertisement for expressions of interest. Submissions are assessed against quality and value criteria. Particular interest in an ongoing partnership with the Council in developing the facilities and/or providing long term investment in the park will be encouraged within concession submissions which will be expected to demonstrate added value. This approach has been used within other sites in Cardiff (Victoria Park, Roath Park) and has proved to be mutually beneficial to the Council and concession holder.



6.3 Watercourses and ponds 6.3.1 Bridges dams and culverts

Bute Park has 7 bridges and 2 dams. The bridges provide access to the park across the River Taff to the west and Dock feeder and Mill Leat to the east. The dams control the water levels in the Mill Leat (see Figure 3) . Bridge list and descriptions Footbridges: • West Gate bridge (masonry, over the Mill Leat, 1920’s) • Fisher’s Bridge (Timber bridge north of the Royal Welsh College of

Music and drama 1999) Reinforced 2010 to take 3.5T vehicle loading)

• Pontcanna / Blackweir bridge (suspension bridge, currently not in Council ownership)

• Millennium footbridge (Steel, single span, 1999)

Bridges suitable for vehicles • Lady Bute’s bridge (Brick north west of the Castle over the dock

feeder 1840’s strengthened in the 1980’s, narrow 40T Weight limit) • Vehicle access bridge (Concrete, main service entrance off North

Road 2009, 40T weight limit) • Ambulance station access Bridge at Blackweir (circa 1950’s) 7.5 T

Weight limit

Dams • Mill Leat upper dam (Masonry clad mass concrete, northern end of

Mill Leat, 2013) • Mill Leat lower dam (Masonry clad mass concrete, southern end of

Mill Leat, 2013) All bridge surfacing and balustrades / parapets will be maintained in

line with surfacing and boundary fence requirements for cleaning and repair. Bridges will be inspected within the Council’s biennial bridge inspection routine and repairs executed accordingly.



Figure 3: Location and photographs of bridges, dams and culverts within the park



6.3.2 Dock feeder The dock feeder runs from Blackweir at the northern end of the park along the eastern boundary to culverts under north road on the north east corner of the castle. It is in a deep cutting at the northern section and the section that runs along the back of the castle at the southern end. Through the rest of the park is on an elevated bank. Much of the original construction of the dock feeder in the mid 18 century utilised timber revetment to support the banks over time these have deteriorated and where these have failed the banks have been repaired using a variety of less attractive materials. Recent localised repair works to control bank erosion have been undertaken using recycled plastic planks providing a long lasting solution to the erosion problem. A new trash screen was installed in 2014 to prevent the culverts exiting the park becoming blocked by debris brought down the feeder.

Plate 13: Dock Feeder bank repairs by Keep Wales Tidy 2013-15

6.3.3 Ponds and pools

The Mill Leat has been re-flooded as part of the recent heritage lottery Funded restoration project and now has 2 ponds lined with a bentonite liner, completed in 2013. The upper pond at the northern end is topped up from the dock feeder and cascades into the lower pond. A timer controlled pump system circulates the water via the adjacent well from the lower pond to maintain the cascade. There is an ongoing leak issue from the construction contract affecting the ability to achieve the designed water level.



The two sections of the leat are different in character and it is proposed that they are managed to enhance their different characters as follows:

Plate 14: Mill Leat

a) Upper pond With stone revetment, banks and a dam with a cascade this pond will be maintained to keep the water largely clear of water vegetation to allow the cascade and circulating water system to work efficiently. Some open water vegetation will be allowed to establish along the edges. Water safety equipment is located on Lady Bute’s Bridge adjacent this pond...

b) Lower pond (Mill Leat) This is the deepest pond with a designed general depth of 1m with two deeper sections north of the west gate bridge which crosses this pond. Although there are no fish present at the moment this is the most suitable pond for fish and it will be monitored to see if they naturally colonise. If they don’t then introduction may be considered. There is a shallow margin on the western bank to allow the establishment of marginal planting to enhance biodiversity, it is anticipated that this margin will naturally colonise. Once issues surrounding the final maintained water level have been resolved some marginal and aquatic planting including native white water lilies will be carried out. Water safety equipment located south of the west gate bridge.

6.4 External hard landscaping



All hard structures excluding buildings are inspected at least once a year by the Land Management Team and their condition is assessed and recorded. This information is recorded on a database which is then used to develop a programme of work to keep them in a safe and serviceable condition, as funding is always limited this data is used to prioritise the work and to more effectively utilise additional funding sources when they become available. Also this information is also use to respond to any accident/insurance claims which may occur. This is in addition to the un-programmed visual inspections carried out by all staff and the public who report defects informally. Small scale Graffiti removal is undertaken by the Park Rangers who are equipped with removal kits, larger areas of graffiti or graffiti on sensitive surfaces are dealt with by contacting Estate services housing management team (See A-Z manual).

6.4.1 Roadways paths and surfaces The park contains a range of pathways and hard surfaced areas with a

wide range of surfaces:

• Tarmacadam • Resin Bonded gravel • Resin bound gravel • FibreDec • Exposed aggregate Concrete • Pattern imprinted concrete • GrassCrete • Sawn Pennant • Riven pennant • Sawn York Stone • Slate tiles • Granite setts • Concrete block paving • Brick • Victorian encaustic tiles • Specialist coatings ( Millennium bridge) • Breedon Gravel • Stone dust • Bark chippings • Informal soil tracks and desire lines Details of path finishes and construction details can be found in the Bute Park Design guide (see A-Z Manual).

Maintenance of formal pathways and hard surfaces is limited to:

• Programmed periodic repair • Programmed renewal • Programmed maintenance operations



• Programmed cleansing • Non-programmed repair/renewal • Non-programmed cleansing • Regular scarab sweeping • Leaf removal Details of the maintenance operations for each section of path and area of hard surface can be found in Appendix 2 - Area by Area Management Schedules

6.4.2 Boundaries and gates The park includes a range of informal boundary types and access

points including: Boundaries

• Steel boundary railings • Walls • Chain link fence • Timber fences

Gates and access

• Steel entrance gates • Ornamental steel entrance gates • Motorcycle barrier • Timber gates and doors • Turnstiles • Automatic bollard

Whilst the park boundary is largely secure there are a few areas of weakness and breaches to the boundary: • Millennium Bridge, the gate on the western end is climbable and

regularly used after hours (evidenced by people counter data). • Gap in the fencing adjacent the Castle mews entrance. • Stile at Blackweir entrance, installed to provide exit point after

park locking, provides an access point. • Exit only turnstile, whilst this doesn’t allow access into the park it

is a climbable structure and there is evidence of it being used to gain access.



Plate 15: Exit only turnstile Maintenance of boundaries and gates Where maintenance of fence lines takes place, this primarily involves:

• Cleaning to remove stains and graffiti • Treatment of timber and metal elements to maintain appearance

and prevent decay • Tightening of bolts on timber structures • Oiling and greasing of moving parts • Painting and staining as required • Responsive repair works

6.4.3 Historic site features

A detailed history of the features listed in this section can be found in the Bute Park Restoration and Development Plan 2005 All the historic site features have interpretation signage or are linked to a web based heritage trail accessible via QR codes at key locations (See Section 9.2.1f)

The following historic site features will require specialist maintenance and management to ensure that they do not deteriorate. Recommendations for their inspection and routine maintenance were developed during their restoration and are detailed in the Bute park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13 and the area by area schedules in Appendix 2.



a) Blackfriars friary remains and reconstruction Until recently the Blackfriars friary Scheduled ancient monument was classed as at risk. Restoration and conservation work completed in 2014 has restored the monument and listed structures that represent an early example of Victorian restoration philosophy to its former glory. The carefully designed turf capping to the restored walls is a key conservation feature designed to protect the walls from frost damage, shedding water from the surface preventing saturation of the earth core leading to frost damage, a major factor in the original decline of the structure. There is evidence of people walking on the top of the walls causing erosion of the raised profile and regular monitoring and maintenance of this issue is required to ensure efficacy of the turf capping. Monitoring and routine protection of the original Victorian tiles is also required to prevent damage during periods of extreme cold. Careful selection of materials and techniques has ensured that the monument has been robustly restored, conserved and interpreted.

Plate 16: Blackfriars Friary



b) Animal wall This grade 1 listed structure is and iconic feature of the Cardiff streetscape. Forming the southern boundary to the park the wall was relocated to its current position and extended with 6 new animals in the 1920’s. Extensive conservation and restoration work were completed in 2011. Regular inspection of the wall is required to monitor the condition of the stone coping and animal sculptures which are prone to delamination of the stone. Recently some of the repaired roll tops have become loose or fallen off and discussions are ongoing with the contractor over latent defects affecting these repairs. Specific recommendations for the removal of graffiti from the wall were established during the restoration project.

Plate 17: Animal Wall c) Eastern Boundary Wall This wall runs the extent of the boundary from Blackweir farm house to Gabalfa lodge. Conservation works to stabilise and prevent further deterioration of the wall, large sections of which were in poor condition, were completed in 2013. Outline proposals were prepared, as part of the HLF restoration project, for the complete conservation and restoration of the wall along its entire length with a mixture of replacement wall and new railings. These were not fully implemented due to funding restrictions and ongoing conservation, restoration and repair of the wall will be required on a phased priority basis to complete the restoration of this historic boundary feature. Details of the proposals can be found in Bute Park Eastern Boundary wall – Condition Survey Report (Nov 2007) by Waterman Civils Consulting Engineers.



Plate 18: Eastern Boundary Wall d) Lady Bute’s Well Originally constructed at the same time as the dock feeder the well was constructed in this location to preserve a spring of water at the request of the Marchioness of Bute. It was later adapted to draw off water from the feeder to top up both the Mill Leat and the moat around the motte in Cardiff Castle. During the restoration of water to the Mill Leat in 2013 it was further adapted as part of the top up and re circulation system for the Mill Leat. As can be seen from the photograph below (plate 19) it has attracted graffiti since restoration and regular inspection to ensure prompt removal is required. Groups of youths tend to gather in this location and localised soil erosion, graffiti and litter being pushed through the grill on top are all issues. Consideration should be given to providing a hard surface around the well, linking it to the path network and providing local interpretation.



Plate 19: Lady Bute’s Well e) West Gate Bridge Re-constructed in the 1920’s the West gate bridge and West Gate mark the original western approach to Cardiff. Opened to public access during the restoration project the bridge provides a good location to view the restored Mill Leat. Although not listed the bridge is classed as an associated structure with the Cardiff Castle grade 1 listing. There is a flooding issue on the bridge deck which needs to be monitored and the drainage holes regularly inspected and cleaned. The mortar pointing on the cobble stone surface is failing in sections and needs to be monitored.

Plate 20: West Gate Bridge



These structures will be subject to regular inspection to monitor their condition. Recommendations for inspection, repair and cleaning have been developed with specialist advice during the restoration and conservation of the features and information is detailed in the A-Z manual and Appendix 2 - Area by Area management schedules

In addition to the above, the following site features also require regular inspection, removal of self-sown vegetation and ad hoc repair using appropriate materials. Specialist advice will be sought in the event of any repair work required.

f) Gallery footings

Constructed in the early part of the 20th century the Gallery footings are the foundation and footprint of a large art gallery commissioned by the 4th Marquess of Bute. Work on the Gallery was interrupted by the 2nd world war, and never completed. Currently an underused space, the gallery footings offer an opportunity to develop innovative uses for the space, and investigation of possible uses is ongoing.

Plate 21: Gallery Footings g) Eighteenth century bridge abutment



These mark the eastern end of the18th Century Bridge across the Taff replaced with the current bridge in 1920’s. Cleared of self-sown vegetation during the restoration project the remaining stonework requires regular inspection with remedial works to remove vegetation, stump killing and re-fix/stabilise loose masonry undertaken as required.

Plate 22: Eighteenth century bridge abutment

6.4.4 Signage General

New information, way finding and interpretation signage has been installed throughout the Park during the restoration project (See section 8.2 Internal orientation and the A-Z ma nual for details)

Maintenance regime Signs are cleaned and have graffiti removed on an as needed basis. All

staff are responsible for monitoring their condition and reporting repairs or graffiti to the Bute Park Manager, who will action any work. All the signs are checked annually for safety and condition by the Land Management Team. The signs on buildings are managed by the respective building manager/concession holder.

Co-ordinating the management of the information board displays is the responsibility of the Bute Park Manager. Tree tags and labels are inspected and maintained by the Friends of Bute Park with the support of the Bute Park Manager and Education Officer

6.4.5 Site Furniture



The park contains a range of types of furniture including:

• Seats/benches • Picnic Tables • Fixed Litter bins • Temporary litter bins • Flag poles • Signage (see section 8.2.1)

There is a limited palette of standard seat designs within the park

extensive new seating provision has been provided through the recent heritage lottery project and a pallet of seats selected for ongoing replacement and addition through a memorial seat donation scheme. details of the seat types and installation guidelines are set out in the Design Guide (Please see A-Z Manual).

These are supplemented by sculpted seats which interpret themes of

the parks history, natural environment and the Arboretum collection. The range of existing seat types and litter bins are illustrated in Plates

23 and 24 below Plate 23: Existing seat styles in Bute Park



Plate 24: Existing bin styles in Bute Park General Maintenance regime

Site furniture is cleaned and has graffiti removed on an as needed basis. All staff are responsible for monitoring their condition and reporting repairs to the Bute Park Manager, who will advise the Land Management Team. Work will be prioritised and implement repair work subject to funding being available. The timber is treated with a preservative to prolong its life and metal components are painted only when additional funding is available. All the seats and bins are checked annually and their condition recorded on a database by the Operational Support Team.

Dog Bins There are no specific dog bins in the park, when dog waste was declassified as toxic waste the decision was taken to introduce biodegradable bags and allow the disposal of dog waste in any litter bin on a citywide basis.

6.4.6 Artwork The philosophy in Bute Park has been to use art, where possible, as a

means to tell the story of the site and provoke interest, enquiry and engagement with visitors.

There are numerous carved tree sculptures and themed carved timber

seats and play sculptures located throughout the park, each with a story to tell. See section 8.2.3 for further details.

Details of their maintenance requirements are provided in the area

specific schedules of Appendix 2. Furthermore, Appendices 14a-c give specific details of the individual sculptures installed as part of the restoration project.

Another interpretive piece of public art is the ‘People’s Door’ which is

located at the entrance to the Secret Garden Café/Bute Park Education Centre This feature door, designed by architect Michael Davies of Davies Sutton, contains a number of carved panels that depict scenes from the park’s history by local amateur carvers. See section 8.2.1d below.



An artist was commissioned as part of the Blackfriars Friary project to

depict in a scaled model how the medieval friary would have looked in its heyday. An image of the model is shown in plate 47 in Section 8.2.3b

The Park Manager will be responsible for managing requests and

commissions for any future artwork, and the same philosophy will remain.

6.5 Services

6.5.1 General Services to Bute Park are provided by the Council’s utilities providers. Meter readings are regularly recorded and entered on the web-based Council’s Energy Monitoring, system used, to analyse usage patterns and allow early detection of leaks. When sufficient data is collected Energy Certificates showing annual usage will be displayed in various buildings.

Location details of known services and are shown on plans in the area by area schedules in Appendix 2 and details of the service and maintenance schedules for all the systems and equipment can be found in the Bute park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13

6.5.2 Facilities The buildings, structures and facilities in the Park have the following services:

a) West lodge/Pettigrew Tea rooms

Connected to water, gas, electricity, telephone, CCC fibre optic, mains sewers and soakaway There has been an issue with the mains drainage from the site. A survey of the drainage system in September 2014 by CCC drainage management team and Welsh Water identified a problem with the public sewer located at the junction of Castle Street/Westgate Street which may be the cause. Welsh Water has carried out some works to remove water from the drain serving west lodge but further investigation works are required by to ascertain the cause of damage and to repair.

b) The Summerhouse

Connected to water, electricity, telephone, coaxial CCTV Services are connected across the Millennium Bridge from Sophia Gardens.



The water meter is located in Sophia gardens at the connection point to the water main; electricity is metered locally in the building. Foul water is processed in a local sewage treatment plant and field drainage system (The system is cleaned annually and emptied 6 monthly or as required). Surface water is directed to soak away Free WIFI is provided by the concession

c) Education Centre/ Secret Garden Café Connected to Gas, water, electricity, CCC Fibre optic. telephone A Solar panel array on the roof provide some of the power requirements with surplus fed back into the National Grid generating an income for the Park through the feed in tariff scheme. Foul water is processed in a local sewage treatment plant and field drainage system, The system is cleaned annually and emptied 6 monthly or as required. (See Section 6.2.1d. above for known issues) Surface water is directed to soak away Water and electricity are sub metered separately for the Education Centre and Secret Garden Café with the latter being invoiced for their usage by the council.

d) Nursery Complex Connected to Gas, water, electric, BT and CCC Fibre optic.

Foul water is stored in a Cess pit. Surface water is directed to soak away or natural percolation with some drainage from the glass houses being stored on site in water butts for re use. Water, Gas and electricity supplies to the Education Centre and Secret Garden Café are sub-metered off the main supply to the Nursery

f) Blackweir changing rooms Gas water electric, telephone, mains sewerage

g) Mill Leat

Electric, GSM Power to the re circulation system is from Cardiff Castle and metered at the castle main distribution Board. GSM unit located in the pump system control cabinet to override the operation of the pumps

h) Coopers Field Water, electric and BT fibre optic Services are provided for the use of events



Power and water supplies for events are accessible from 6 Pop Up Pods fed from a substation within the park. After the system failed electrical safety tests in 2014 due to low cable insulation readings further investigation isolated the problem to water ingress to the sealed underground cable termination box on the pods and faulty cables. The current status of the system is as follows: Pod 1: Out of service, supply cable is faulty Pod 2: Fully operational (has always tested ok) Pod 3: Fully operational (testing confirmed cable was ok. Fault was

due to water which has been remedied), Pod 4: Out of service, supply cable is faulty Pod 5: Out of service (Unable to access underground termination box

to test cable) Pod 6: Out of service (New Unit, but supplied from Pod 5)

All the pods have a useable water supply

6.6 Play and Fitness Equipment

The play and fitness equipment in the park is managed and maintained by the parks Services Playground Team. Park Services prides itself in the inspection and maintenance regimes that it has developed to ensure the safe day-to-day management of its 120+ playgrounds. These regimes are designed to comply with the guidelines given in the British Standards documents BS EN 1176 Playground Equipment and BS EN 1177 Impact Absorbing Playground Surfacing. The regimes are focused around a ‘state of the art’ computerised asset management system ‘Playsafe’ that allows the Playground Inspector to record inspections and findings on site, using a hand held computer. The Inspector is also able to allocate each finding a risk value and consequently a priority rating for any necessary repairs. On returning to the office, the information is digitally transferred to the main computer system that generates works orders for completion by the maintenance team. The resulting database of information gives a historical record for every asset in every playground, the date of every finding and when the resulting works were completed. ‘Playsafe’ is a valuable tool for the effective management of the playgrounds and to secure funding for improvements. Maintenance and Management Regime The playground Team visually inspects the equipment fortnightly with an operational inspection carried out monthly. Weekly inspections will be carried out by the urban rangers in the park and any issues reported to the Playground Team.



Maintenance and repair is carried out by the Playground Maintenance Team and implemented on a priority basis. Equipment is cleaned and has graffiti removed on an as needed basis. In addition, every member of Park Services staff working in the park has a responsibility to ensure the safety of the public when using the parks and will report any vandalism or damage to the equipment to the Playground Inspector should they encounter it. Because the maintenance team are directly employed, they can respond immediately to any serious safety issues that require equipment to be immobilised or removed.

6.6.1 Balance Trail Installed in 2013 the balance trail consists 10 pieces of low level timber and rope equipment snaking through Old Man’s Wood near the Summerhouse café and marked at either end by 2 ‘upside down trees’ There is no safer surfacing requirement for the equipment because of the low fall height, although installation of a bark surface around the equipment to address the erosion occurring in and around the equipment would be desirable. Details of the equipment can be found in the Bute Park A-Z manual and in ‘Playsafe’.

Plate 25: Balance trail



6.6.2 Trim Trail Installed in 2013 the fitness trail consists 8 pieces of metal static fitness equipment located along the path edge around Blackweir playing fields. Each piece of equipment has grass matt safer surfacing installed underneath to prevent erosion. During the 2014 defects inspection issues were noted on 3 items these have been repaired and modified, further monitoring will be carried out and if there is a recurrence of the problem the issue raised with the manufacturer. Details of the equipment can be found in the Bute Park A-Z manual and in ‘Playsafe’

Plate 26: Trim trail

6.6.3 Play Sculptures Details of the specific maintenance regime for the carved play sculptures can be found in Appendix 14



Plate 27: Play sculptures



7. Park environment 7.1 General principles 7.1.1 Managing the changing landscape The complexity of the park landscape is such that a holistic approach to

maintenance and management is required in order to achieve the full aims of the restoration and development plan (2005). Effective management of the trees in particular will ultimately define spaces, provide transition between spaces, create vistas and scenes and define the characteristics of different spaces – creating balance unity, harmony, variety, scale and contrast in the landscape.

Effective vegetation management will only be achieved if there is a

thorough understanding of the dynamics of the site. The juxtaposition of equally significant features creates a tension that will require time, patience and long term vision to achieve a satisfactory result.

7.1.2 The influence of a changing climate The Parks and Green Spaces Strategy has addressed for the first time,

the issues facing the Parks Service in dealing with a changing climate. In Bute Park, the long term effects could be devastating because the longevity of trees and the park’s location on the floodplain makes them particularly vulnerable to climatic change. However, this can also make the park an obvious location to observe the impact of climate change and inform.

In the future, plant selection, management practice and habitat creation

and management will all need to be reviewed to ensure that the future of the park is safeguarded.

The park is predominantly flood plain and is designed as a flood storage cell for Cardiff during significant flooding events; therefore it is expected to flood intermittently. Flooding events are uncommon although their frequency may increase in future years.

7.2 Tree Management 7.2.1 Maintenance and Management of Trees

Bute Park contains in excess of 3,000 trees, mostly planted, or regenerated over the last 150 years, with the greatest proportion (around 2,200) having been planted in the latter half of the twentieth century as part of the Arboretum development since the 1950s, with many of the rarest trees in the collection planted over the last two decades since the re-dedication of the Arboretum in 1990’s. The rest of the trees are either historic plantings dating back to the nineteenth



century layout, or regenerated or planted woodland, particularly in the northern part of the site and east of the dock feeder. The Bute Park Tree Management Plan5 sets out the principles for tree management throughout the park. The plan addresses the issues of conflict between the arboretum and the historic landscape and outlines a ‘development over time’ approach for the restoration of the historic landscape whilst preserving the integrity of the arboretum. The plan sets out parameters for the arboretum management and future development and provides a framework for the restoration and gradual renewal of the historic tree structure. The tree management plan (2007) is a long term plan and the general principles are still relevant, however, the tree lists and work plan require review and updating to reflect changes to the park and the planting structure resulting from the restoration project and to identify those areas previously surveyed and managed. A MapInfo database of the trees has been maintained throughout the restoration project and developed to include information that can be used in interpretative material for the arboretum collection. The trees are also recorded on the Parks services Arbotrack system which is used to plot and record maintenance and management of all the trees within Cardiff’s parks. The Arbotrack records will be updated through a rolling programme of condition inspections and management works to reflect changes in the park resulting from the restoration project. Together with regular and on-going monitoring and review this ensures that there is a full and robust system for dealing with any maintenance requirements.

The following operations will be carried out routinely in order to maintain the quality of the planted areas:

• Weed control around base of trees (appropriate to location) • Removal of dead and diseased plants • Formative pruning as required to achieve the desired shape • Removal of any basal shoots • Annual rolling programme of inspection and tree maintenance work. • Annual checks to newly planted trees until establishment to inspect

and replace any trees ties and the eventual removal of stakes • Reporting of any tree issues to the Arboricultural Officer for further

inspections and resolution • Trees identified for removal are assessed for suitability for either

replacement or recycling of the trunk as in situ art work.

5 Bute Park Restoration Tree Management Plan (October 2007) and Tree Works Plan (October 2007)



Where trees are subject to specific detrimental impacts on their immediate environment an assessment of the impact will be made and specific measures put in place to protect the trees and ensure they continue to thrive. Specific measures will include: • Arboricultural impact assessment • Tree protection plan • Investigation of root plate • De-compaction techniques

7.2.2 Maintenance and Management of woodland area s

Woodland maintenance and management is covered in the Bute Park Tree Management Plan18, which provides a broad strategy for the management of the semi natural woodland areas within the park and the development of a demonstration ‘ecotone’ throughout the Blackweir woodlands, showing the gradation of management practise between parkland and woodland.

Woodland maintenance and management city-wide is undertaken by the Community Ranger Team in conjunction with the Woodlands Biodiversity Team, Park Rangers, and the area grounds maintenance teams. This work is managed on a planned basis and often undertaken in conjunction with friends groups and other environmental volunteer groups although reactive work also takes place as problems arise.

7.2.3 Coppice Management

A hazel (Corylus avellana) coppice known as Hutchins hazels planted during the winter of 2007/8 is managed on a 3 year rotation to obtain hazel wands for use to support plants in the herbaceous border. Growth rates will be staggered by cutting on a three year basis i.e. cut 33% to ground level in the first year to encourage multi-stem growth allowing remaining 67% and cutting 33% respectively years 2 and 3 so that the growth will be staggered over a 3 year rotation.

As the coppice develops and the growth/harvestable hazel becomes greater, selective pants will be allowed to grow larger be coppiced on a 10-15 year rotation to improve the biodiversity of the stand and provide larger poles to be used as plant supports



7.2.4 Timber and Green Waste Recycling

All timber generated as a result of tree work in the park will be recycled at either the point the work took place or taken to Forest Farm where the timber is used to create a number of products which used in the parks by our staff, or sold at a nominal fee to help local groups with their environmental projects. The products include:

• Signs • Bollards • Fence panels • Charcoal

Any timber not used in this way and other green waste is collected by the green recycling centre at Lamby Way to be composted. 7.2.5 Hedges

The following hedges exist within the park:

a) Maintained hedges • Beech hedge alongside herbaceous border • Beech and Yew hedges around the tennis courts • Beech hedges around northern part of Nursery complex • Pleached hornbeam high level hedge to southern boundary of

nursery complex • Hornbeam high level hedge in the Stuttgart garden • Cherry laurel hedge alongside North Road (cut back Hard 2011-

2013) • Photinia hedge around substation • Clipped box hedges in Blackfriars cloister garth (Re planted 2013) • Pyracantha along west side of nursery These hedges are cut annually to retain their shape and formative pruning carried out where required, the exception being the Pyracantha hedge which is cut twice per year. All works are timed to avoid bird nesting season 1st March – 31st July. b) Unmaintained and over mature hedges • Conifer hedge along eastern side of nursery walled garden • Conifer hedge line along the boundary of the gifted park (south of

the Orchard Lawn)

These hedges have not been maintained or had limited management for many years. The base of the conifer hedge has recently been cleared and crown lifted to address anti-social behaviour in the area and this will be maintained.



The remnant over mature conifer hedge along the boundary of the gifted park will be gradually removed and replaced with linear tree planting that reflects the park structure without making a solid boundary

7.3 Ornamental planting 7.3.1 General principles

Unlike most of the city’s other parks, Bute Park, as a private garden, was not laid out for the public ‘consumption’ of horticulture. However the development of the exceptional herbaceous border along the River Taff in the 1950’s and more recent introduction of broad leaved and grass beds and a new mixed border have added significantly to the horticultural interest. Formal gardens and small areas of seasonal bedding have also been developed. The high points of horticultural interest are: • The trees • The herbaceous border • The education centre mixed border • The broad leaved and grass beds • The spring bulbs • The Stuttgart Garden The longer term objectives set out in the Bute Park restoration and development plan (2005) which are still relevant to this plan seek to further broaden horticultural interest within the park without significantly altering the structure or appearance of the landscape, through: • Developing a physic garden within the Blackfriars cloister garth • Appropriate arboricultural management to redefine the structure of

the site • Extending the variety and extent of the permanent plantings • Reintroducing the character and style of the Victorian plantings in

appropriate locations where these can be seen in the context of the restored original layout.

• Developing and extending the seasonal bulb displays Since the introduction of Best Value an annual assessment of all permanent planted areas has been undertaken across the city, to develop a coherent and systematic regeneration and replanting programme to extend and widen both the horticultural and botanical experience for the visiting public.



7.3.2 Permanent Planting The existing shrub planted areas are based upon the Victorian layout

and provide a variety of planting schemes giving seasonal variety in keeping with the park layout. Over the years a number of different cultivation techniques have been employed. The use of acid loving plants (Rhododendrons and Azaleas) west of the northern lawns area has proved to be unsustainable, despite these being a feature of the historic plantings (see Section 7.3.3 ). Other species such as Hydrangeas and Camellias have established well. In order to preserve ongoing health and perpetuate the desired effects through intervention, there will be ongoing trialling of shrub types within the larger planted areas. Replanting – particularly in some of the more shaded areas of the park, could be protected by estate fencing to prevent unwanted incursion into the planted areas and opportunistic theft of newly planted specimens (which has been a major problem in the past).

All shrub planted areas are designed for low input, routine maintenance

schedules. New plantings shall be: • Appropriate to the location • Well mulched to reduce weed growth • Of the largest size possible to deter theft • Fenced in vulnerable locations The following operations are carried out routinely in order to maintain and improve the quality of the planted areas: • Weed control (appropriate to location, a combination of hoeing and

spray control) • Edged annually (in lawn areas) • Removal of dead and diseased plants • Removal to be followed by quick replacement • Formative pruning as required to achieve the desired shape • Mulched annually with leaf litter collected from the park

7.3.3 Historic planting restoration

Bute Park Restoration and Development plan (March 2005), describes

the Pettigrew style as far as could be interpreted in the context of the research carried to that date as follows6:

‘During the 1860s there had been a reaction against the formality of the High Victorian Italianate gardens such as those designed by William Nesfield (1793-1881), often consisting of gravels, architectural detailing and extensive parterres. The end of Nesfield’s career saw a dramatic reversion to the more informal and naturalistic designs previously promoted by William Sawrey Gilpin (1762-1843), John Loudon (1783-1843) and others, enriched with naturalistic planting advocated by

6 Bute Park Restoration and Development Plan, March 2005. Page 113.



horticulturalists. At Cardiff Castle it was this approach that was adopted by Andrew Pettigrew after 1871, creating a landscape for Burges’s Castle and rejecting the architect’s more formal vision for the surrounding grounds.

Swathes of uninterrupted, open lawn formed a dominant feature in the landscape, punctuated with irregularly shaped clumps of ornamental trees and shrubs. As Brent Elliott puts it, this was the English landscape style as improved by nineteenth century horticulture. Consequently, within the naturalised picturesque landscape much care was taken over the location, variety and quality of individual choice plants. A circuit of paths encouraged admiration of the specimen plant collection and encouraged viewing of the scenery created by the landscape as a whole, supplemented with eye-catching glimpses of Burges’s Gothic towers.

This description sums up the characteristics of Pettigrew’s layout of the Castle grounds. Herbaceous borders and seasonal planting were foiled by manicured turf between the planted areas and the edge of the driveways and footpaths within the estate. Although there were ornamental areas adjacent to the Castle, in the main the effect was one of understated elegance and tranquillity which did not compete with the exuberance of Burges’ Gothic architecture.’

More recently, some descriptive evidence of Pettigrew’s approach to

landscape layout and planting has come to light through the scrapbook of his middle son Hugh – sourced via the Pettigrew family during the preparation of the Pettigrew Exhibition in the Old Library in Cardiff in Spring 2006. An article on ‘Hardy Herbaceous Perennial Plants, delivered by Andrew Pettigrew to the Cardiff Gardener’s Improvement Association makes strong reference to Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous American landscape architect, a contemporary of Pettigrew. In his article, Andrew Pettigrew extols the virtues of hardy herbaceous plants as a means of providing flowers throughout the year and many of the contemporary descriptions cite his use of herbaceous perennials with ornamental shrubs.

From contemporary descriptions of the Castle gardens during

Pettigrew’s tenure as Head Gardener7, we can derive the following characteristic features which have been translated into new planting designs, and should continue to inform further planting interventions to reflect his highly individual approach.

• Seasonal planting of Zonal Pelargonium in small, geometric beds

7 Journal of Horticultures and Cottage Gardener, 27 September 1877; The Gardener’s Chronicle, 1 July 1882; The

Gardener’s Magazine, 8 August 1891; The Gardeners Chronicle, 9 September 1893; Journal of Horticultures and Cottage gardener, 19 September 1895; Gardener’s Magazine, 21 October 1899, Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener, 6 September 1900



• High quality grass swards fronting all planted areas (new education centre border)

• Choice shrubs planted, with trees, in long borders or circular island beds

• Extensive herbaceous borders with shrubs at the back (new education centre border)

• Masses of flowering plants with muted tones (new education centre border)

• Willow trees along the dock feeder (replacement tree planted 2014) • Rhododendrons and Peonies • Hortensia hydrangeas • Jasmine, Wisteria, Amelopsis and Vines on the castle walls • Fernery on the Cathays Park side of the estate

It is interesting to note that in an undated article entitled ‘South Wales Notes’, again sourced from Hugh Pettigrew’s scrap book, Andrew Pettigrew indicates that many of the shrubs in the grounds were actually raised in the glass houses for interior floral display, then transplanted to the grounds after they had finished flowering. He cites the use of Hydrangea hortensia, Aralia sieboldii and Choisya ternata in this context. A full planting list of all the species and varieties mentioned in the articles is given in Appendix 15 .

7.3.4 Herbaceous Plants

a) The Herbaceous Border Bute Park’s herbaceous border is the longest of its kind in Cardiff and is considered to be the horticultural gem of the park. Although there is no documentary evidence to suggest that this follows the line of Pettigrew’s border, it is likely that it was established early in the layout of the park. The original border was on both sides of the path, but this was altered in the 1970s to produce the island beds on the river frontage, which allow more access to the river.

The border is characterised by the longevity of its bloom (April to October) and the neat mown grass edge which is a feature of Pettigrew’s original plantings. The border is routinely replanted in sections to increase the variety and flowering period of the display. Between 2010 and 2014 on the main border and 3 of the island beds all the plants were lifted and split, the borders single dug , and manured before re planting. This process will continue until all the island beds have been completed by 2015 and the whole process repeated on a cyclical basis to maintain the quality of the planting

b) Education Centre Border



Established in 2012/13 planting season following the completion of the new education centre in the park this is a mixed shrub and herbaceous border with a neat mown grass edge which is a characteristic of Pettigrew’s original plantings. Plants were selected from Pettigrew’s original palette for inclusion in the border with the emphasis on muted colours, extended seasonal interest and benefit to pollinators. The border is backed by a wall with climbing roses which reflect the original southern boundary of the nursery complex.

The following operations are carried out routinely in order to maintain and improve the quality of these planted areas: • Weed control and forking through by hand • Edged regularly • Prompt removal of dead and diseased plants • Removal to be followed by quick replacement • Application of manure on a 3-5yr cycle

Coppiced hazel from the Hutchins Hazels’ copse at the northern end of the park is used as plant supports. Further improvements to the interpretation of the border through the use of plant labels and / or leaflets to provide information and aid identification are underway.

Plate 28: Herbaceous borders in Bute Park

7.3.5 Other planted features



To broaden the horticultural appeal and variety of the park a number of other planted displays and features have been incorporated into the park. • ‘Pumba’ feature bed • Grasses bed • Shade tolerant large leaved herbaceous bed • Stuttgart garden • Physic Garden (to be planted winter 2014) • Seasonal bedding (Stuttgart Garden, Green Flag bed, containers at

the Secret Garden These additional features will continue within the confines of their immediate area where they add interest to the park without compromising the historic structure and layout of the park. Additional temporary features may be introduced on a purely seasonal basis to add an element of surprise and variety, taking advantage of gaps in the canopy where trees have been removed. The following operations are carried out routinely in order to maintain and improve the quality of these planted areas: • Weed control by hand • Edged regularly • Prompt removal of dead and diseased plants • Removal to be followed by quick replacement • Harvesting (Physic Garden) The development of a ‘Secret Garden’ within the nursery complex should be considered as a future development to complement the education centre and Secret Garden Café All the maintenance operations on the planted areas are currently carried out by parks grounds maintenance staff, however, a programme of horticultural volunteer opportunities is being developed with the intention to engage the Friends of Bute Park and volunteers from the wider community in the maintenance of these areas.

7.4 Bulb planted areas

Bute Park is renowned for its displays of spring, and to a lesser extent, autumn flowering bulbs. Historically all bulbs have been planted in species groups in grass areas. Following flowering, bulb planted areas are left until the leaves have died back before implementing mowing regimes. A more recent trend has been to add mixed species groups of native bulbs and wildflowers into grass areas and beneath and around



trees to extend the length of the season and to boost the biodiversity of woodland fringe ground flora.

The following bulb types are found in the park:

• Allium (Wild Garlic) • Bluebell (pink and blue) • Chionodoxa (Glory of the snow) • Colchicum • Convalaria (Lily of the valley) • Crocus (many varieties) • Cyclamen • Daffodil (many varieties) • Fritillaria • Galanthus (snow drops) • Hyacinths • Muscari • Ornithogalum (star of Bethlehem) • Triteleia • Tulip (naturalised form)

The location of naturalised bulbs are shown in the area by area management plans in Appendix 2 Bulbs are also incorporated into the herbaceous and mixed beds to add seasonal interest, notably the varietal groups of daffodils in the herbaceous border.

7.5 Grassland management

The finish of grassed areas strongly influences the character of landscaped areas. The majority of the park is mown as amenity grass, with some higher standard areas such as the herbaceous and education borders and Blackfriars and some lower standard areas such as the woodland margins and Dock Feeder banks.

Localised and individualised mowing regimes are used to define different areas to provide a greater range of contrast; on a ‘macro’ scale from south to north, with the southern end being generally more intensively mown and the northern end less intensive (apart from the sports pitches); and on a micro scale – with individual elements subject to different regimes, for example groupings of Arboretum trees with longer grass beneath separated by mown ‘paths’ or route ways; wildflower areas with mown walkways,

This creates a more coherent structure to the landscape and helps to delineate some of the past uses such as the sunken lawn and ‘Pettigrew planting’ which will both be mown to a higher standard.



Throughout the site, mowing regimes and finishes are determined by landscape character and the visual appearance of individual areas and the role played by the grassed areas within their overall aesthetic. Within the overall structure of the localised and individualised mowing regimes, specific management regimes will be adopted for the following:

• Naturalised bulb areas • Wildflower areas • Control of grass around obstacles and trees • Mowing around individual trees • Reinstatement of damaged or worn areas • Selective weed control within grass • Improvements to site drainage • Sustainable fertilisation and irrigation as required

Full details for the existing and proposed grass maintenance regimes are given in the area by area schedules in Appendix 2 .

In 2012 a baseline biodiversity survey of some of the key grassland areas where modified mowing regimes were introduced was carried out see Appendix 16 This established the diversity of the grassland areas and identified appropriate species that should be included in future planting and seeding programmes to boost their biodiversity. The scope of the report was limited to specific areas as detailed in the report but the general principles of the information learned would apply to more general areas where increased biodiversity is desired within the heavily tree planted grasslands. To help establishment of more diverse grassland specific interventions to both suppress the vigour of the grass sward and increase the diversity have been introduced and are being considered such as: Increasing diversity

• Plug and bulb planting of suitable species • Scarifying and over seeding with suitable species

Suppressing the vigour of existing grass

• Sowing of parasitic yellow rattle • Use of growth retardants on grass

Specialist reinforced turf surfaces are included in areas of high wear associated with events vehicle movements. These areas will be maintained in accordance with the general grass cutting regime for the area. The location of these areas and additional maintenance requirements to maintain the quality of the grass is identified in the area by area schedules in Appendix 2 .

7.6 Management of water courses and aquatic areas



7.6.1 Dock Feeder

Responsibility for maintenance of the Dock Feeder (providing the main

water supply for Cardiff Docks) rests with Associated British Ports (ABP). ABP carries out periodic de-silting, emergency works to remove blockages and are responsible for maintaining a flow of water in the channel. Intermittent access is required to carry out these operations. The Council has riparian ownership and is responsible for management, maintenance and repair of the banks as follows:

• Ad hoc repair of leaking sections • Vegetation management and clearance

Vegetation management is carried out as part of the winter work

programme in the park this is supplemented by volunteers work days.

The condition of the dock feeder banks has deteriorated over time work has started on a programme of revetment repairs funded through the restoration project to address the worst affected areas. The work has been carried out through a volunteer project managed by Keep Wales tidy and they are keen to remain involved in the management of the dock feeder working closely with the Cardiff Rivers Group and ABP.

A good working relationship has developed between the council and ABP during the restoration project with collaboration on de-silting, vegetation management, installation of the trash screen and management of water levels to facilitate work. This is an ongoing relationship.

7.6.2 Mill Leat

The maintenance regime for the Mill Leat includes maintenance of:

• the supply from the Dock Feeder; • monitoring of water quality, • daily litter collection • skimming leaves from the surface • periodic silt and submerged leaf control • control of water vegetation, • Control of algae (quarterly application of pond dye) • control of marginal vegetation • Maintenance of the circulation system • Maintenance of the structures. (See also maintenance of water features, Section 6.4.6) An annual maintenance contract for the circulation system pumps is in place see the Systems and equipment section of the Bute Park buildings maintenance requirements schedule in Appendix 13 .



Regular inspection and cleaning of the grill protecting the intake to the pump and clearance of leaf litter and silt from the base of the pond in this area will be required to ensure that the flow of water to the pumps is maintained. Water to top up the Mil Leat is obtained from the dock feeder with the agreement of ABP. The current agreement allows the extraction of up to 20 m3/day. Extraction above this level would require an extraction license from Natural Resources Wales. Data provided by the contractor during the ongoing leak issue would suggest approximately 60m3/day may in fact be required to maintain the designed water level. This is subject to ongoing analysis and assessment before a way forward can be agreed.

7.6.3 River Taff

The Council is responsible for vegetation management along the Taff, but is not responsible for the waterway. Natural Resources Wales requires periodic access to the river form the park side to carry out dredging, vegetation clearance and other watercourse maintenance operations.

A good working partnership has developed during the Bute Park Restoration project with the Cardiff Rivers Group and Keep Wales Tidy who periodically organise volunteer work days to remove accumulated litter, rubbish and overgrown vegetation from the main watercourses through and adjacent the park.

7.7 Protecting and promoting biodiversity

7.7.1 General description

Bute Park is landscape of contrasts, combining areas of formal parkland, unimproved grassland, secondary woodland and remnant ancient woodland. A number of features are of particular importance in nature conservation terms and three areas have been designated as Site of Interest for Nature Conservation (SINC). See Appendix 17 for copies of the SINC designations a) Blackweir and Dock feeder

The Blackweir woodlands dominate the northern area of the park with the dock feeder running through the eastern side of the woodland down the eastern side of the park. The woodland areas are designated for the habitat value of its varied understorey and mature woodland trees and the presence of all three Woodpecker species (Green, Greater and Lesser spotted) and the very rare Date



Coloured Waxcap8 that occurs within a small remnant area of unimproved grassland within the Bute Park Arboretum. The Waxcap hasn’t been recorded at the site in recent years, but the management regime identified in the Area H management schedule will be continued in the hope that it will return. Dock Feeder is designated for the value of its bankside trees and vegetation as a habitat for bats, otters, kingfishers and its role as a passage for aquatic species. Protected and priority species Banded Demoiselle, Crossbill, Date-Coloured Waxcap, Kingfisher, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush

b) Gabalfa Woodland These dominate the far north of the Park outside the boundary of the listed park designated for the habitat value of its varied understorey and mature woodland trees) Protected and priority species Green Woodpecker, House Sparrow, Kingfisher Various wild flower species, such as wood anemone, Spanish bluebells, red campion, green alkanet, common spotted orchid and fox glove populate the woodland areas as well as a wide range of indigenous tree species and non-indigenous trees introduced within the arboretum. Ground flora indicator species, including Bluebell, Dog’s Mercury, Field Maple and Red Currant, suggest that the area once supported ancient semi-natural woodland

c) The River Taff

One of the three main rivers within Cardiff, the River Taff flows from the north to the south of the city along the west side of the park. The river is important for migratory fish, otters, wildfowl and bankside vegetation and acts as a major wildlife corridor Protected and priority species Atlantic Salmon, Black-Headed Gull, Bullfinch, Common Pipistrelle, Grass Snake, Green Woodpecker, Herring Gull, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Little Egret, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Nathusius' Pipistrelle, Otter, Pochard, Redshank, Red- Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Sand Martin, Scaup, Sea Trout, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Soprano Pipistrelle, Speckled Bush Cricket, Stonechat, Teal, Water Rail, White Letter Hairstreak, Yellow Wagtail

8 Date Coloured Waxcap only occurs in ten 10km grid squares in Britain of which six are in Wales.



7.7.2 Management Issues

Balancing the need to protect and promote biodiversity with the wider conservation and public access objectives of the management plan is and continues to be a key management challenge. It is essential that the park is managed in a way that does not compromise existing habitats or the future prospects of important flora and fauna whilst maintaining the integrity of the historic landscape and features. Efforts to safeguard biodiversity will focus on the following management objectives: • manage woodland and vegetation to enhance biodiversity • enhance amenity value of woodland areas • achieve sustainable access through management - including

designated areas of inaccessibility to protect habitats • maintain sight lines • control and eradicate invasive non-native species • protect and develop migratory routes for seasonal migration • create conditions to help species adapt to climate change

7.7.3 Management Measures

The above objectives are being implemented through work plans developed for specific sub areas (see Tree Management Plan and Area by Area management schedules in Appendix 2 ). These identify key issues and target species and include work schedules that detail each operation and the appropriate frequency. For example woodland management works:

• specific management measures for arboretum trees (in line with the arboretum management plan

• management of timber arisings through extraction for re-cycling, creation of habitat piles or chipping

• controlled cutting of grassland and ground flora (and edges) to increase diversity wild flowers and fauna

• invasive species control • litter picking • path maintenance • species monitoring

All management works are will be undertaken in full consultation with the Parks Conservation Officer. On-going education and training is provided to site operatives to ensure that all biodiversity requirements are respected within site maintenance operations and that the correct techniques are employed.



7.8 Noxious weed control

7.8.1 General Known occurrences of injurious weeds and areas subject to regular control are shown in the area by area management schedules in Appendix 2 . Regular inspection of the site should be carried out and new instances of injurious and invasive species reported to the Park Manager.

7.8.2 Japanese Knotweed The riverside location of the park and its proximity to the Taff Trail and the presence of the Dock Feeder makes the whole site vulnerable to knotweed incursion. Management of knotweed in the Park is shared between the Highways Service (areas abutting the cycleway), the Harbour Authority (areas within 7m of the river Taff) and the Parks Service. An active programme of knotweed control has been implemented throughout the park for the last 5 years following an initial treatment of the extensive large stands in the northern areas of the site and localised smaller stands and individual plants throughout the park identified in a survey of knotweed within the Taff corridor areas in the mid 2000’s. The following techniques have been used:

• Autumn saturation spraying of large stands • Spot treat isolated small plants • Stem injection • Weed wiping • Encapsulation (Mill Leat)

Following the successful management of the succession species, Himalayan balsam, a resurvey of the all the previously treated areas was carried out in 2014. This confirmed that knotweed was still present in all the previously identified locations although in a significantly weakened state with generally very stunted re growth apart from the occasional small plant beginning to recover. Ongoing management of the knotweed with an annual programme of spraying and spot treatment is required to maintain control and prevent its re-establishment alongside joint annual resurveys with the councils weed control contractor, monitoring the success of the treatment programme and identifying new occurrences of the weed throughout the park.



7.8.3 Other Noxious weeds a) Himalayan balsam Himalayan balsam is extensive throughout the park particularly in the northern sections and along the watercourses. It is the main successional species in the areas previously treated for Japanese Knotweed. Management has been carried out through volunteer activity days significantly reducing the extent of the balsam stands and allowing the natural woodland ground flora to re-establish. Continued vigilance and management of the balsam is required to prevent re- establishment. b) Dock A programme of dock control within grassland areas subject to modified mowing regimes has been undertaken since 2012 consisting of an annual summer spot treatment with herbicide prior to the plants setting seed to prevent them taking over the areas.

Dock produce a prolific amount of seed and the seeds can remain viable in the soil for decades so continuation of the programme is important for the successful establishment of the wildflower grasslands.



8. Movement and use 8.1 Access to the park

8.1.1 Sustainable access

Bute Park is well serviced by public transport connections.

a) Buses There are several bus stops within 5 minute walk of Bute Park entrances. To travel by bus to Bute Park from Cardiff suburbs or places outside Cardiff the following easy options are available:

The Blackweir stop is on North Rd nearest the Blackweir entrance and you can alight from buses buses 25 Llandaff, 26 Blackwood, 27 Thornhill / Llanishen, X30 Newport, 136 Pentyrch, 400 Gwaunmiskin / Beddau / Tonteg / Nantgarw, M4 Gabalfa interchange / Cardiff Met Llandaff (Mon-Fri term time only), B Senghenydd / Caerphilly

The Corbett Rd stop is on North Rd nearest the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama / vehicle access bridge entrances and you can alight from buses 27 Thornhill / Llanishen, 26 Blackwood, X30 Newport, 136 Pentyrch, T4 Newtown / Llandrindod / Builth Wells / Brecon / Merthyr Tydfil / Pontypridd

The Kingsway GR stop is on Kingsway nearest the Castle North Gate entrance and you can alight from buses 11 Pengam Green / Tremorfa / Splott, 23 Whitchurch, 23A Pantmawr, 25A Llandaff, 26 Blackwood, 27 Thornhill / Llanishen, 35 36 Gabalfa, Bay Car, X30 Newport, T4 Newtown / Llandrindod / Builth Wells / Brecon / Merthyr Tydfil / Pontypridd, X4 Hereford / Abergavenny / Merthyr, 132 Maerdy / Porth / Pontypridd, B Senghenydd / Caerphilly

The Kingsway Hilton stop is on Kingsway nearest the Castle North Gate entrance and you can alight from buses 28 28A 28B Thornhill / Llanishen, 30 Newport, 38 38A Heath Hospital, 44 45 St Mellons, 49 50 Llanrumney, 52 Cardiff Met Cyncoed campus, 53 Cyncoed / Pentwyn, 54 Cyncoed, 57 58 Pontprennau, 86 Lisvane

The Cardiff Castle stop is outside Cardiff Castle nearest the West Lodge entrance and you can alight from buses M3 M4 Gabalfa interchange / Cardiff Met Llandaff (Mon-Fri term time only), 122 Tonypandy / Tonyrefail / Talbot Green, B Senghenydd / Caerphilly

The Cardiff Bridge 2 stop is on Castle Street nearest the West Gate entrance and you can alight from buses 15 Heath Hospital, 17 Ely, 18 Ely, 96 Barry



The Quay St stop is on Westgate Street nearest the West Lodge entrance and you can alight from buses 26 Blackwood, 32A St Fagans, Bay Car, 132 Maerdy / Porth / Pontypridd, B Senghenydd / Caerphilly

The Westgate St stop is on Westgate Street nearest the West Lodge entrance and you can alight from buses 23 Whitchurch, 25 Llandaff 27 Thornhill / Llanishen, 61 Pentrabane, 62 Danescourt, 63 Radyr, 64 65 Llandaff North / Danescourt / Pentrabane / Fairwater / Canton, 66 Fford Berllan / Danescourt / Llandaff, 86 Lisvane, 124 Maerdy / Trebanog / Creigiau

The park is also only 10 mins walk from the city's central bus station where other sustainable transport options from further afield are available.

b) Trains Entrances to the park are 8 minutes walk from Cathays Station, 12 minutes walk from Queens Street Station and 15 minutes walk from Cardiff Central Station

The following web resources are available to help visitors plan sustainable travel options to the site:

http://www.traveline-cymru.info/ http://www.cardiffbus.com (see route & times and timetables) http://www.trawscymru.info/t4/ http://www.stagecoachbus.com

National rail website National express website Mega Bus website

8.1.2 Pedestrian access There are 7 pedestrian entrances to Bute Park (see Appendix 18 ).

Pedestrians also use the vehicle access bridge but this is discouraged through signage (see Plate 29) to avoid conflict with vehicles, and because design constraints on the bridge do not fully comply with highway standards for safe pedestrian use. However this bridge is not adopted highway.



Plate 29: Advisory signage on vehicle access bridge to direct pedestrians to RWCMD entrance

The map used on the site signage, the www.bute-park.com website

and visitors leaflet also provides guidance on the nature of surfaces so users can make informed decisions about which routes best meet their needs (see Appendix 19) .

Access to the park is currently restricted to daylight hours, but a late

night commuter route operates throughout the winter months to provide an east-west route through the park for pedestrians and cyclists. This route is open until 7pm.

People counters were installed in 2013 providing good information

about the usage of the various entrance gates to Bute Park. Full year data for each entrance is provided in Appendix 20. The pedestrian entrances have been appraised and the following issues have been identified:

a) Blackweir

Stile installed to provide a safe means of exiting the park prevents entrance being fully secured.

In the past cyclists have complained that signage does not make it

sufficiently clear that the entrances to the south are locked and they then have a very long way to turn around. There is also a misconception with some cyclists that National Cycle Network Route 8 passes through this entrance. Recent signage improvements along with information on the bute-park.com website and visitor leaflet have sought to address the issue but the situation needs to be monitored.



b) Ambulance Station The pedestrian entrance uses the bridge over the Dock Feeder which

is also used by Ambulances on the blue light. A safety report done 2006 identified this as a significant safety concern as the bridge's design (single lane, no pedestrian refuges) does not comply with current highway standards. However it is worth noting this is not adopted highway. Unfortunately due to operational and financial constraints this was not a situation that could be resolved through the Bute Park Restoration Project. The budget that was originally ear-marked for works to the Ambulance Station bridge in the HLF grant was diverted into other projects after it became apparent that:

• The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) would not vacate

the site within the life time of the project • The ambulance depot and maintenance depots could not be

‘decanted’ to other sites to allow the necessary closure of the bridge for works to take place

• If works were to take place in parallel to continued operation of the site a temporary bridge would have to be provided

• The required works would therefore significantly exceed the budget

The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) are still actively seeking vacation from the site. A Business Justification Case was completed by WAST in Nov 2012 for an Ambulance Resource Centre (including a make ready depot) on an alternative city centre location in Cardiff. This project has been endorsed by Welsh Government and the latest position communicated by Derek Johns (WAST National Estates Manager) in Sept 2014 was that an Outline Business Case would be submitted for Welsh Government and WAST Exec approval approximately June 2015 with a Full Business Case following a year later. The current forecast timetable for vacation of the site is therefore 16/17 at the earliest.

The bridge (number 154) has a weight limit of 7.5 tonnes and this is

signposted on site (Plate 30). The sign was replaced in 2013 by Philip Turton contractors as a minor add on to the eastern boundary wall contract after it was discovered to have been vandalised/ inappropriately removed.



Plate 30 – Weight limit sign on the Ambulance Station Bridge

Unauthorised parking along the road between the depot and the bridge

has been a persistent problem. No Traffic Regulation Order exists for the site though the principle of one for the site has been agreed by CCC, WAST and the Police. Progression of a TRO so CCC civil parking enforcement can fine people for infringements and obstructing ambulances along this route remains an aspiration.

The site contact within WAST is Martyn James [email protected] 07815 209473, 01633 626223.

Sports pitch users, particularly cricket players, wish to stay on the field

until after scheduled park locking if sufficient light is available for them to play. For this reason there is a desire to install a pedestrian exit-only turnstile in this location.

c) Blackweir Farmhouse

The boundary wall in the vicinity of the farmhouse was upgraded during the restoration project as part of the eastern boundary wall contract.

There are no live issues regarding this entrance other than a complaint

was received in 2013 regarding poor upkeep with respect to litter and leaf clearance.

d) Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

This entrance was subject to reconfiguration and upgrade linked to the building of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama's new premises, theatre and concert hall in 2011.

A pedestrian exit-only turnstile was installed Nov 2011 to provide

pedestrians with an appropriate means of exit were they to accidently get locked in the park or if they elect to stay after the scheduled park



locking. The market was researched prior to installation of the exit-only turnstile and there was no unit available that could accommodate the passage of bicycles were cyclists to get locked in.

This entrance is on the designated cycleway through the park and one

of the entrances used during the late-night commuter opening. Reflective advisory path stamps were implemented Dec 2012 to help manage the shared use between cyclists and pedestrians (see Plate 31). Assessment of the current wear of the signs suggests they will need to be renewed every 5 years to keep them adequately legible. The cost of installation of the stamps / line marking along the whole designated cycle route (including Sophia Gardens side of Millennium Bridge) was £875 and carried out by Glamorgan White Lining.

Plate 31 – Reflective advisory path stamps along designated cycle route to help manage shared use

Interventions that make the route more visible to cyclists and pedestrians would be a welcome addition. This would need to be done in a way that is sensitive to the historic nature of the park.

The site furniture on the road side of the entrance is in need of rationalisation to take into account more recent design interventions.

This entrance further benefits from a flag banner pole (see Plate 32)

which helps to promote the site to pedestrians and vehicles passing on North Rd and help address the fact Bute Park has poor views into it from many of its boundaries.



Plate 32 – Flag Banner Pole on North Road by RWCMD e) Castle Mews

The footplate for the lockable bollard is damaged preventing the bollard to be secured. This item needs to be put in the repair schedule.

The hedge adjacent to the gate is damaged allowing people to enter

and exit after park locking. This is a longstanding issue with attempts to improve the hedge repeatedly damaged. The urban rangers feel there is no great pressure to address this issue as no detrimental impacts are being felt.

The hedge and conifers forming the internal boundaries are maintained

by the grounds maintenance team.

f) Castle North Gate This entrance was upgraded during the restoration project and closed

to vehicles following the completion of the Corbett Rd Access Bridge in 2009. Operational vehicles can now turn more easily at this entrance following the repositioning of the visitor sign in 2014. The entrance features two lockable bollards to allow vehicle passage by arrangement.

A private dwelling (the former North Lodge cottage) is in the final

stages of redeveloped adjacent to this entrance (see Plate 33). The site now features a new larger two storey building with timber cladding and prominent large glazing. There is a misconception by some users that this plot is / was under the control of the Council (actually it was sold under the right to buy scheme in the 1980s) and objections have been raised by some people about the style of the building given its setting.



Plate 33: New private dwelling on the site of the former North Lodge cottage

A plane tree was felled during the redevelopment and two replacement trees were planted. A tulip tree close to the original location of the plane tree, extending the existing Tulip tree avenue, and a Ginkgo to replace a tree lost from the northern end of the nearby Ginkgo avenue.

g) West Gate

This entrance exits onto Castle Street which has a relatively narrow footway adjacent to the end of a busy cycle path and a busy highway. This can create user conflict issues as sight lines are restricted by the pillars of the gate archways. This necessitates active management during events that use this as a high footfall exit.

h) Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge was refurbished at the end of 2013 and the bridge deck was resurfaced in an anti-skid material. The adjacent bound gravel surfaces are in a relatively poor condition and showing signs of break up. Unfortunately there was not budget in the bridge refurbishment scheme to address this issue. The bridge forms part of the east-west designated cycleway and is part of the late night commuter route. Reflective advisory path stamps were implemented Dec 2012 to help manage the shared use between cyclists and pedestrians (see Plate 34 ). Assessment of the current wear of the signs suggests they will need to be renewed every 5 years to keep them adequately legible. The cost of installation of the stamps / line marking along the whole designated cycle route (including Sophia Gardens side of Millennium Bridge) was £875 and carried out by Glamorgan White Lining.



Plate 34: Reflective advisory path stamps for shared use on Millennium Bridge

Given the restricted width of the bridge and the sharp turn south made

by some cyclists entering the park this entrance suffers the worst user conflict issues and a number of anecdotal reports of collisions and incidents have been heard by parks staff and staff at the near-by Summerhouse Cafe. Management staff within the Parks service are currently seeking more quantitative and official reported data on the issue.

It remains an aspiration of the management plan to trial and implement

further interventions to help calm cyclist speeds in this area.

8.1.3 Cycle access Bute Park features one dedicated cycle route which is appropriately

sign posted on site and in the visitor information leaflet (see Appendix 19).

However the park is also popular with cyclists who use other routes through the park. These routes are ‘permissive’ routes and use by cyclists has significantly increased since the last edition of the management plan (though comparative quantitate data is not available). Increased use by cyclists is unsurprising given the attractive relatively safe route the park provides and its excellent connectivity with the city centre and Taff Trail national cycle network route 8. There have also been a number of policy initiatives by Welsh Government and Cardiff Council Transport Team linked to the active travel agenda which actively seek to encourage people out of cars and on to bikes. During the restoration project bike stands were installed at West Lodge, Blackfriars Friary, the Summerhouse Café and the Bute Park Education



Centre. These are very popular and on busy days demand for cycle stands outstrips supply. The management team for Bute Park will continue to explore increasing cycle stand provision for the site within the resources available to them. Any new cycle stands will follow the standard design adopted through the project.

Plate 35: Bike stands in use at West Lodge A solar powered cycle counter was installed by Transport Services, before the project work commenced, to monitor the cyclist numbers using the shared use path. The data which has been collected shows the increasing popularity of this route with cyclists. The data will also inform the future development of cycling in the park.

The route through the woodland towards Blackweir north of the nursery site is popular with mountain bikers as it provides an ‘off road’ path experience with attractive scenery and varying topography. However objections to use by cyclists have been made by members of the Friends Group who value the space as a tranquil walk in a part of the park that feels “more wild” because of the absence of hard surfaced paths. Use by cyclists has caused erosion of the ground flora and a widening of the path. In response to concerns raised by the Friends Group three timber barriers with signage were installed in early 2014 at the main entry points along the path.



Plate 36 – Example of timber barrier and signage through Blackweir woodland SINC route Use by cyclists continues to occur but visitors are now informed that cycling is not permitted along the route and the signage allows members of the public to point to it if they wish to challenge the behaviours of others. The ignorance argument has now been removed.

8.1.4 After dark and commuter access

In 2011 a three month trial was conducted to allow commuters to access the park after normal locking (half hour before sunset) to travel east-west between the Millennium Bridge and Fisher’s Bridge (by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) until 7pm. The trial was deemed successful and extended for the remainder of the 2011 winter period. The late night commuter access has been adopted each year since then. A risk assessment exists for the late locking regime and is reviewed and updated annually in light of operational experience. The late locking was sub-contracted out in 2011 but from 2012 was taken back in house and is managed by Parks staff within existing resources. Two 2400 x 600 mm vinyl banners purchased in 2012 are temporarily displayed on fencing at Millennium Bridge and Fisher’s Bridge to promote the route and its safe use. However, due to changes to the Council’s website at the time of writing the QR code on the banner no longer works. The link https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/butepark will have to be reinstated or the banners/QR code replaced. In Dec 2014 a report was done to investigate how popular the route is based on data captured by the park’s people counters. The report indicated that between 153 and 810 individuals use the route between 4pm and 7pm daily. 8.1.5 Vehicle access



There is no public vehicle access into Bute Park and there are no tourist signs to direct visitors to any of the adjacent car parks. As the site covers a large area, post code navigation (e.g. by Sat Nav) is complicated with different car parks being preferential depending on what direction users are travelling from and what part of the park they wish to access. Improving information on what options are available e.g. through the new Bute Park website could increase the numbers of visits from people less familiar with the area. Operational vehicles all enter and exit via the Corbett Rd bridge which narrows to a single lane over the Dock Feeder. An automatic bollard control system is in place at the access bridge linked to an intercom that allows vehicle drivers to contact all of the destination buildings within the park directly. Drivers can also contact park management and an out of hours number that rings through to the city’s central traffic/CCTV monitoring station. A sign was installed on the vehicle bridge Oct 2014 to help guide drivers entering the park.

Plate 37 - Artwork for sign located adjacent to intercom system on Bute Park vehicle entrance bridge. Installed Oct 2014. Operational guidance on safe use of the bollard is available in the events section of the Bute Park website.



Plate 38: Satellite image showing position of Corbett Rd bridge into Bute Park Vehicle access in and out of the Castle North Gate and Castle Mews Gate are by special arrangement only. Since the completion of the Corbett Rd bridge, the Council’s Events Team have established a standard method of traffic management for the site during ‘event mode’ and this generally works well when managed and enforced effectively. Traffic management in ‘event mode’ is supported by advisory signage and track mats purchased as part of the restoration project. Guidance about circulation routes for the different event areas are provided to external event organisers as part of the information pack available on the Bute Park website. 8.1.6 Emergency vehicle access

Provision for emergency vehicle access is entirely flexible, according to

the area of the park where access is required in the event of an emergency.

Optimal access for emergency vehicles during major events is

determined on the ground at the time by the events co-ordinator, according to the circumstances of the emergency and will be agreed and documented during the planning stage for events.

Contacts within the emergency services hold swipe cards for the

bollard control system and can always raise someone on the ‘out of hours’ button on the bollard’s intercom system should they not have a swipe card with them.

Bute Park Corbett Rd Vehicle Bridge



8.2 Internal orientation

8.2.1 Visual a) Entrance/orientation map boards

A new suite of entrance/orientation map boards were installed in March 2014 as part of the Bute Park Restoration Project. Eight signs were installed in the following locations:

• West Gate • North Gate • RWCMD • Blackweir Cottages • Blackweir Bridge • Millennium Bridge (Sophia side) • Summerhouse • Outside BPEC

The signs were designed to incorporate a method of clearly displaying the park closing time, which changes throughout the year based on 30minsutes before sunset. This addressed a long-standing issue of the rangers having to tie up with string laminated sheets showing the current park locking time. Magnetic backboards were incorporated into the integrated weatherproof display cases to avoid the need to use sticking tape or blue tac, which had made the old boards look unsightly. The new designs were devised in consultation with the Friends Group and have been well received by the rangers and park users.

Plate 39 - Example of orientation board within Bute Park



An additional sign was also installed on the wall of the Sophia Gardens Coach Driver’s Facility to help attract people from this key car parking location. A further sign is planned for the water taxi stop to provide the commercial operators with an appropriate means of displaying information about their services and to rationalise a steady proliferation of A-boards by commercial operators within the park. This sign will be a modified version of the style used at the entrances b) Way-finding totem poles / finger posts A new suite of way-finding totem poles / finger posts (11 signs, multiple directional flags) were also installed in March 2014 as part of the Restoration Project.

Plate 40: Example of finger post sign within Bute Park The locations and facilities that feature on the signs were agreed through a consultation exercise with the Friends Group and in response to previous customer feedback. The way-finding totem poles also feature a square section collar which displays information about the site code of conduct.



Plate 41: Image of the bespoke square section collar used to carry code of conduct information on the Bute Park way-finding totem poles.

The pictograms used were developed in consultation with the Friends Group and follow the principles of conduct messages used in parks throughout the city (e.g. Halley Park). Inclusion of the code of conduct symbols was in response to the shared use path issues known to occur in this park. They seek to educate people about the site’s code of conduct and provide a reference point for park users and staff to refer to if they wish to challenge inappropriate behaviour by others. The square section collar also provides an area for a branded QR sticker promoting the new Bute Park website. This is currently in the final stages of design and production and will be installed shortly.

All signage was provided by DMA Signs with graphics designed by Celf Creative. c) Interpretation/information boards Thirteen interpretation boards (see Plate 42 for an example) exist

throughout the site, all of which provide interpretative information on historical features and were installed as part of the restoration project. The signs cover the following features:

• Animal Wall (one A1 sign on Castle St near Castle Clock Tower) • Gallery Footings (one A1 sign at rear of external seating terrace

at West Lodge) • People's Door (one A1 sign within internal courtyard of Secret

Garden Cafe) • General site history (one A0 sign in internal courtyard of Secret

Garden Cafe) • Tiled floor within West Lodge (one A1 sign within internal

courtyard of West Lodge)



• Blackfriars Friary (one A1 sign on southern footpath, one A0 sign on western footpath)

• Mill Leat (six A3 signs on West Gate Bridge)

Plate 42: Example of one of the interpretation boards featured throughout the site

An additional information sign exists to provide guidance on the U-Turn bird song box which is located near the Summerhouse Café and woodland balance trail (see Plate 43 ). This is specifically targeted at children and was designed by the Countryside Team to match the style used in other locations around the city.

Plate 43: Picture of the information board adjacent to the U-Turn bird song

box A sign containing information about the park’s arboretum collection (Plate 44) was removed in 2014 as it had fallen into disrepair. The sign



was originally donated by the Roundtable and an approach has been made for them to fund its replacement at the end of 2015.

Plate 44: Old arboretum collection interpretation sign d) People's door In 2011 a competition was run by the restoration project team inviting professional and amateur wood carvers to design relief carved panels for inclusion in a feature door within the 'garden wall' of the Education Centre buildings. The carvers were asked to use historical information provided by the team as inspiration for their carvings. Following a public exhibition and display of the entries 8 winners were chosen and included in the final door.



Plate 45: Photo of the 'People's Door' within the garden wall of the Education Centre building Each image tells a story about the site's history and an interpretation panel on site within the courtyard of the Secret Garden Cafe tells the story behind each carving. e) Flag banners Two flag banner poles were installed in early 2013. One is located at the RWCMD entrance and one is located by the water taxi stop. The purpose of the banners is to raise awareness of the park through the use of strong images and eye-catching design from prominent city vantage points (see Plate 32). f) QR Heritage Trail A heritage trail in Bute Park was created in 2013/14 in conjunction with the website historypoints.org. The trail can be accessed either from a PC or on a mobile device via Quick Response (QR) codes located on plaques displayed at points of interest around the park (Plate 46).



Plate 46: Photo of a QR plaque by the People’s Door Both an adult and children’s version of the trail is available and the trail has been narrated to allow users to play an audio clip of the text rather than having to read it off their screen if that is their preference. The text is available in English, Welsh and some other languages to make it as accessible as possible. The children’s trail was created in conjunction with the history club students at Ton yr Ywen primary school. There is a self-led “letter hunt” associated with it that sees children follow the trail around the park and collect letters to spell out a secret word. The trails are available free of charge from the Bute Park Education Centre. g) Print literature There is a host of printed literature giving general visitor and specialist interest information about the park. These were mostly created during the restoration project but will be continued to be built on. In summary, the following materials are available:

• General Visitor leaflet [Free] • Family Tree Trail [£1] • Seasonal Play Trails [50p] • Bute Park “Wildlife Explorer” Rubbing Post Trail [Free] • Champion Tree Trail [Free]

The print literature is available either free of charge or for a small charge. They can be collected from the Bute Park Education Centre or park cafés. h) Web pages



A new stand-alone website www.bute-park.com was launched in March 2014. The website, which was designed by Celf Creative, contains a wealth of general visitor and specialist interest information about the park. There is also information and booking forms for hire of outdoor space within the park and hire of the indoor facilities at the Bute Park Education Centre. There is an outdoor events and activities calendar which shows what’s on in the park and Education Centre month by month. The webpages are updated by the Bute Park management team and a parallel Welsh language version is also available at www.parc-bute.com

8.2.2 Oral a) Guided walks Bute Park has a structured programme of guided walks which has

become well established through the lifetime of the restoration project. The guided walks are delivered by parks staff (including now some urban rangers and gardeners), as well as members of the Friends Group and their invited speakers.

The guided walks are promoted by on-site posters, the Bute Park

website, e-mail and social media. Weather continues to play a critical role in attendance figures but feedback is always good and the programme is valued by park users (e.g. see consultation feedback).

b) Recorded information The U-Turn unit at the rear of the Summerhouse features recordings of

bird song by birds found commonly in Bute Park. This is accessed by turning the handle of the unit.

The webpages of the QR Heritage Trail feature audio narrations of both the adult and the children’s versions. This means users can listen to audio interpretation of selected park locations via their handheld smart phone or tablet. The pages can also be accessed directly from a computer via the www.HistoryPoints.org website, which is linked and promoted from the www.bute-park.com website.

8.2.3 Tactile a) Natural Play / Sculptures In 2012 the restoration project team recruited three artists to undertake

commissions to provide interpretative sculptures and natural play items within the park. One artist produced three pieces under the theme of the natural environment, one produced three pieces under the theme of



the site's heritage and one produced five pieces under the theme of natural play but was asked to use the site as inspiration for the work.

The following pieces were created and the provision of more seating

was in response to user feedback

Item Location Artist Concept Acorn seat Top of Blackweir

Playing fields under large oak tree

David Lloyd Reference to the oak tree in this location

Horse chestnut 'kissing' seat

Copse of trees on upper Blackweir playing fields

David Lloyd Reference to the horse chestnut trees in this location and provision for users to sit and watch sports and bird life in this area of the park.

Walnut seat Woodland adjacent to woodland balance trail

David Lloyd Reference to the black walnut tree in this area and provide a seat for people, e.g. while children use balance trail.

Coracle seat River bank on herbaceous border

Mark Folds Historic record of people fishing using coracle boats on the river Taff e.g. Lucas family.

Blackfriars tomb stone bench

Adjacent to Blackfriars site

Mark Folds Bench references key items found during the 19th century archaeological excavation of the Blackfriars site. Also provides the names of the last known Blackfriars to occupy the site and the dates of the friary occupation

Picture frame seat

Southern end of Gorsedd Lawn near the old gallery footings

Mark Folds Picture frame designed in an ornate style references the third Marquess of Bute's abandoned art gallery project, the foundations of which are visible from this location. The piece also frames an iconic landscape view within the park and taking pictures of people within the frame has become an attraction within its own right



Item Location Artist Concept Leaf Bridge South of the path

leading to the water taxi stop

Tom Harvey Piece can be walked over and crawled under. Treads of bridge steps show images and names of some common leafs within the park. Piece references the old bridge that used to cross the River Taff in this area. Footings of the old bridge can be seen when stood at the water taxi stop looking south

Otter and salmon

North of the path leading to the water taxi stop

Tom Harvey Piece can be climbed on and crawled through. References the salmon run that occurs up the River Taff each year and the presence of otters along the river within Bute Park

Frog and fly Adjacent to Old Man's Wood path to the south of the Summerhouse

Tom Harvey Piece can be climbed on and a simple seat is provided nearby e.g. for parents to sit on while their children 'ride' the frog. Artist worked with a local primary school and ran a workshop where children made clay models. The idea for the frog came out of their session on what animals may live in the park.

Stag beetle Woodland behind Summerhouse Cafe

Tom Harvey Piece can be climbed on. Reference to woodland mini beasts. Artistic licence used on species of beetle because of its aesthetic qualities

Hollow orchard log

Orchard Lawn near picnic benches

Tom Harvey Piece can be climbed in and crawled through. Reference to historic record of orchard planting in this area, hollowed out log turned up on it's end features relief carving of orchard trees and fruit

These sculptures compliment earlier pieces created in Bute Park. The

intention is to create a printed self-led sculpture trail around the park that gives information on each of the pieces and any interpretative relevance of the designs. Each sculpture within the park is marked on the interactive map featured on the Bute Park website and a picture of each one can be viewed.

b) Blackfriars tactile model



In 2013 the restoration project team recruited an artist to create a tactile bronze model recreating how the Blackfriars Friary site would have looked in its medieval heyday. The artist Rubin Enyon won the commission and the piece was installed in March 2014 (Plate 47 ).

Plate 47: Photo of the Blackfriars Friary tactile model c) Rubbing posts

The Wildlife Explorer Trail is a self-led fun trail where children can collect 16 rubbings of posts dotted around the park, while learning facts about the site and its wildlife (Plate 48). A fantastic hands-on way for families to explore the park.

Plate 48: Example of one of the 16 number of rubbing posts located around the park. A wildlife explorer trail booklet accompanies the trail.



8.2.4 Orientation Points The following locations and buildings are the site’s key orientation

points:

a) West Lodge/Pettigrew Tea Rooms • Orientation map board next to main entrance • Interpretation board in external courtyard telling people

about the feature tile floor within the building (using Victorian tiles rescued from theft and damage from the Blackfrairs Friary site)

• Users can pick up visitor leaflet and map • Users can purchase or pick up self-led trails

b) Summerhouse Cafe

• Orientation map board nearby (accessible height) • Users can pick up visitor leaflet and map • Users can purchase or pick up self-led trails

c) Secret Garden Cafe

• Orientation map board nearby (accessible height) • Interpretation board about the People's Door and

interpretation board summarising the site's main historical periods

• Users can pick up visitor leaflet and map • Users can purchase or pick up self-led trails

d) Bute Park Education Centre

• Site map on magnetic whiteboard inside building allows people to record recent wildlife sightings

• Interpretation panels inside building tell visitors in more detail about three main eras of Bute Park's history

• Users can pick up visitor leaflet and map • Users can purchase or pick up self-led trails • Display screen within reception available to play slide

shows and show live feed of Bute Park website. • General visitor information



9. People and partners 9.1 Park use In 2013 new electronic counters were installed within the park to record

visitor numbers. These new counters supplied by the company LineTop replaced an earlier system which had become virtually obsolete due to operational issues with the large heavy batteries required to run the counters. New much more visually discrete counters with smaller longer life standard batteries were installed at every entrance point and also at the Bute Park Education Centre.

There is an intention to install further counters at Blackweir Changing

rooms to better monitor usage patterns at this facility. One full year’s worth of data was achieved at the end of September

2014 and indicates usage has increased by 100% compared with the 2004 pre-project baseline data (2,043,966 in 2014 versus 1,051,604 in 2004-05). The 100% increase figure is robust since the 2014 visitor data includes the period in August/September 2014 when there was disruption to visitor numbers due to the installation of a significant boundary fence line within Bute Park linked to the NATO summit dinner held in Cardiff Castle 4th Sept. Further details of usage data are provided in Appendix 20.

Different reports on usage data can be run from within the software programme supplied with the counter system.

Park usage has also been analysed through a question in the regular user surveys run during the restoration project. This data is in the process of being analysed and will be available in a separate supporting document later in 2015.

Unfortunately there is no robust visitor number data on another similar Cardiff park for comparison. Roath Park would be the best comparative site and it is hoped comparable information will become available within the life of the management plan.

9.2 Volunteers and park friends Volunteering

With the extra staff resource provided by the restoration project volunteer involvement has significantly increased in Bute Park in recent years and there is now a formally constituted Friends Group. The table below records the annual number of volunteer hours and equivalent monetary value according the formula prescribed by HLF (£50 per day for unskilled, £150 per day for skilled and £350 per day for expert):



Bute Park Volunteer Hours - quarterly totals

Quarter

Unskilled

hrs (£50

per day)

Value

Skilled hrs

(£150 per

day)

Value

Professional

hrs (£350

per day)

Value Total

hours

Total

Value

Q4

13/14 354.5 £2,532.14 0 £0.00 11.5 £575.00 366 £3,107.14

Q1

14/15 262.5 £1,875.00 84 £1,800.00 0 £0.00 346.5 £3,675.00

Q2

14/15 583.5 £4,167.86 84 £1,800.00 0 £0.00 667.5 £5,967.86

Q3

14/15 412 £2,942.86 70 £1,500.00 0 £0.00 482 £4,442.86

Total 1862 £17,192.86

Accurately recording all volunteer involvement in the park is difficult

because some is now self-directed by the Friends Group and occurs outside of formal events. Therefore the figures above represent minimum estimates.

Although the formal requirement to record volunteer involvement has

lapsed since the HLF match funding target was reached it is still recorded by the Education & Outreach Officer as a key measure of success and this will be continued into the future (see Section 11 ).

Bute Park Friends Group A public meeting was held in June 2011 to raise awareness of the

intention to establish a Friends Group. A series of follow up meetings were held between June and Sept 2011 and as a consequence a number of local people came forward to establish a Committee. The Friends Group was fully constituted in April 2012 and is now actively involved in both the ongoing development and implementation of this management plan and in practical activities to develop and restore the park.

The Bute Park Friends Group had 114 paid up members as of end

Sept 2014. The group have a website http://friendsofbutepark.com and also use Twitter and Facebook to promote and advertise their activities.

Through the course of the restoration project a number of specific

volunteer roles were designed and advertised. These are listed below:

• Educational Research Volunteer • Conservation Volunteer



• Events – Walks and Talks Volunteer • Front of House Volunteer • Learning Events Volunteer • RSPB Wildlife Detective Volunteer

This led to recruitment of a number of volunteers who made valuable

contributions towards a number of activities and projects. During 2014 five volunteers have worked weekly to research

information about the trees in Bute Park to compile a detailed tree information spreadsheet. Seven volunteers have been involved in the delivery of education and learning opportunities for children in the park. Six volunteers have been involved in the bulb location project in Bute Park to document where and what bulbs have been planted over the years in Bute Park. Five volunteers have recently been recruited to work alongside the gardeners tending the herbaceous borders and other planted areas. A Front of House Volunteer will start working with the Education Officer in the Education Centre in the middle of October 2014

9.3 Work experience and training, including apprent iceships Park Services offer high school pupils work experience opportunities in

Cardiff parks including Bute Park. Pupils spend a week working alongside staff at various locations and with many different teams from Urban Rangers to Gardeners. Fitzalan High School pupils (30) visited Bute Park in July 2014 for the day, an event led by the Community Rangers.

Two 4 year funded horticultural apprenticeships were provided through

the restoration project and led to the successful completion of a National Certificate and Higher National Certificate in Horticulture, respectively, for two individuals, both of whom have now secured full-time work within the Parks Service.

Cardiff Council are committed to providing apprentice training in Bute

Park into the future and it is planned that the Parks Service area will now recruit 4 apprentices to work within the service (recruitment currently planned to be phased in in 14/15 and 15/16). The new apprentice scheme will see a more rounded programme of training across the service so there is the range of skills required to meet the demands of a modern parks workforce. All apprentices will receive training within Bute Park and one Full Time Equivalent apprentice cost will be funded through the Bute Park business plan (see Appendix 12 )

In addition to this the Parks Service will continue to support other apprenticeship schemes such as the Heritage Horticultural Skills Scheme and the Historic and Botanic Gardens Bursary Scheme by providing structured placement opportunities to students.



9.4 Funding partners

9.4.1 Memorials and donations

a) Memorial Trees Bute Park currently has 130 memorialised or donated trees remaining in the collection, many of which were donated from 1988 onwards as part of the establishment of the Bute Park Arboretum. A significant proportion of the original donated trees can no longer be identified - this could be for a number of reasons:- they may have been poorly located and are in over-planted areas, they may have died and / or been removed or the original memorial plaque may have disappeared. Where we have records they are held and maintained on the tree database. The Parks Service operates a tree donation/memorial scheme across the city. The scheme has been suspended and is not advertised as available in Bute Park at the moment due to the already large number of trees in the collection and limited space. However if a direct enquiry is received for a donation /memorial tree in the park it will be considered by the park management team who will: • Generate and maintain an annual planting list from which new trees

can be donated. This list will comprise trees that have been individually selected to enhance the collection in the park and will be reviewed and updated regularly.

• Identify specific planting locations for trees to enhance the landscape structure and the collections

• Continue to provide opportunities for individuals to memorialise existing trees within the Arboretum that do not currently have an existing memorial or sponsorship.

Memorial/donated trees are recorded on the tree database for the park. Plans can produced from graphical database indicating the location of memorial trees. Additional work is required to build up the information in the database and to ensure correct recording of appropriate data to make the information more user friendly. There is a presumption against the installation of ground level memorial plaques due to the ongoing issues of metal theft and their impact on day to day maintenance. An alternative offered is for a small tree label to be hung from a branch or fixed to the stem with the tree species information and the memorial/donation inscription. The memorial tree scheme conditions can be found in Appendix 22 and provide clear and concise details of the obligations both of the donor and the Council in respect of memorial trees.



b) Memorial benches

There are a number of memorial seats and benches throughout the park. Opportunities for further memorialisation exist, but this needs to be carefully managed in terms of both their location and the type of seats supplied. Options for memorialisation include provision of a new seat, replacement of an existing seat and memorialisation of an existing seat New seats and benches are to be selected from the design palette for the park. There is a programme of replacing the steel and cast iron seats from the southern section of the park moving them to the northern sections and replacing them with seats of the new designs adopted during the restoration project. All donors of memorial benches removed as part of this programme will be informed of the relocation of benches and be given the option of either having the bench and plaque relocated in the north of the park, or of having the plaque replaced on a new seat in the original location. The memorialised seats and benches scheme conditions can be found in Appendix 22 . It should be noted that the costs for new memorial benches in the general parks scheme do not apply to Bute Park where specific design details for the seat bays and specific seat types are required. Details of the costs for Bute Park are available on request. c) Friends Group funded projects

There are no live Friends Group funded projects at the time of writing but at a recent committee meeting it was agreed in principle that the Friends would consider providing financial support towards development work within the polytunnel area adjacent to the Education Centre. The action plan captures the current plans.

9.4.2 Grant funding

a) Heritage Lottery Fund Following the £3.1m investment made by HLF to undertake the restoration project (2009 – 2014), the organisation remains an important potential grant awarding body for the park. For example, an application for funding through the HLF’s “Our Heritage” programme (ref OH-13-08511) is in progress in collaboration with internal colleagues (Cardiff Castle and Cardiff Story) and Archaeology Wales. The project which builds on archaeological discoveries made during the Mill Leat restoration project involves



analysis, conservation and dissemination of artefacts and archaeological remains. The project will involve training volunteers and engaging and educating people about life during the 16th and 17th Centuries.

b) Small grants

The Friends of Bute Park and the Education & Outreach Officer are scoping the availability of grant funding for small projects within the park that the Friends can pursue. The Development Action plan identifies a number of projects that can be developed in this way.

The Friends themselves also have monies provided through their membership which can be donated towards projects within the park that meet their constitutional objectives.

c) Landfill Community Fund The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme that enabling operators of landfill sites to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs). EBs carry out projects that comply with the objectives set out in The Landfill Tax Regulations 1996: Two of these are relevant to the park: Objective D The provision, maintenance or improvement of a public park or another public amenity Objective DA The conservation of a natural habitat or of a species in its natural habitat

In 2014, funding was awarded by Community Funding resources Ltd

towards new signage in Bute Park through this scheme.

d) Cadw During the HLF restoration project Bute Park was a recipient of grant funding from Cadw for two of the schemes; scheduled monument grant funding for Blackfriar, and listed building/structure grant funding for the Animal Wall. There are no plans to approach Cadw for further funding in the park at present.

9.5 Non funding partners The following organisations have been involved in or contributed

towards the ongoing management and development of the park. These have been supported by the Education & Outreach Officer and also the Community Ranger Team:

• RSPB (support of the education & outreach programme) • Keep Wales Tidy (site improvement works) • Vision 21 (site refurbishment work) • Cardiff Rivers Group (cleansing of park waterways)



• Innovate Trust (conservation activities) • Military Preparation College (conservation and site refurbishment

work) • Cardiff Castle (joint run families event) • Cardiff Bat Group (joint run families event) • South Riverside Development Centre (group visits) • Quest (10 week work placement) • YMCA (young carers visits)

9.6 Live Partnership Projects 9.6.1 KWT Dock Feeder Work

In April 2014 a project started on site with Keep Wales Tidy. The aim of the project was to repair eroded sections of the west side of the Dock Feeder canal banks, particularly where erosion was threatening the integrity of the stone dust footpath constructed as part of the restoration project (Plate 49).

Plate 49 – Montage of works along the Dock Feeder canal undertaken through a partnership project with Keep Wales Tidy The project uses a recycled plastic revetment material made from plastic farm waste which is then back-filled with silt and soil. The project will also install stepped access points for dogs to use after it was identified they were exacerbating the erosion when jumping in and out of the water.



The project is set to continue through 14/15 until the priority works are completed. The project is undertaken by volunteers recruited by Keep Wales Tidy and led by paid staff within KWT.

9.6.2 RSPB provision for schools

In May 2013 a project was started with the RSPB to provide a formal education offer to Cardiff school children using the Bute Park Education Centre as a base linked to RSPB's curriculum-linked outdoor education programme. To date the project has seen 16 number of school visits. Currently the sessions are charged at £1 per child with £25 (minimum) per session going as income to the Bute Park Education Centre. The partnership meets shared objectives between Cardiff Council, Bute Park and RSPB around improved education, use of Bute Park and its purpose-built education centre as a learning resource and connecting the city's children to the nature on their doorstep.

9.6.3 RSPB Give Nature a Home project In autumn 2014, RSPB Cymru and Cardiff Council began a collaborative and exciting new pilot project called “Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff”. Give Nature a Home in Cardiff aims to encourage young people and their families to spend more time, more regularly outdoors enjoying the wildlife in their gardens, school grounds, local parks and green spaces. The project aims to inspire thousands of young people and their families over the next couple of years through outreach sessions in schools and events in parks and green spaces across Cardiff. The project is delivered in partnership with the RSPB and Cardiff Council and funded by Tesco through the Welsh Government’s carrier bag levy until March 2017. The official launch of the Give Nature a Home in Cardiff Project is planned to take place at the RHS Show at Bute Park in April 2015.

9.6.4 Vision 21 bench maintenance

Cardiff Council has a partnership with Vision 21, a local charity for people with learning needs, to maintain and repaint seats and benches throughout city, including in Bute Park, on a priority basis. The Vision 21 students last painted benches in Bute Park in spring 2014.

9.6.5 Probation Service goal post painting

In summer 2014, members of the probation service painted the football goal posts around the city, including those on Blackweir Playing Fields for the first time, as part of their community service. This task for the probation service was identified by the grounds maintenance team, and



is an annual routine maintenance that needs to be completed at the end of each season. The development/action plan sets out ambitions around further partnership projects.



10. Information 10.1 Information management Ensuring that the park is properly maintained and becomes a

successful visitor facility will require effective management of information. This will include communications within the Council, with external partners and with the wide audience of park users.

10.2 Internal information management Information flow internally will be determined largely by the new

management structure for the park, given in Figure 2 . This clearly defines:

• Roles and responsibilities of key personnel in respect of different

maintenance and management operations including events • Lines of reporting and briefing on all operational issues,

programmed and non programmed works 10.2.1 Procedures for problem resolution Depending on the nature of the problem and initial source of identification different procedures may be used. The Urban Ranger team have day-to-day responsibility for site monitoring and will respond to directly resolve problems, or report problems when other teams or external agencies are required. Common problems include: incidents of graffiti, tree falls and hung up branches, lost property, injured wildlife, damaged infrastructure and anti-social behaviour. The Bute Park Manager is on hand to coordinate and lead on resolving more complex problems.

10.2.2 Procedures for responding to customer feedba ck

Bute Park receives customer feedback through a variety of sources: a) Ad hoc verbal

Staff receiving feedback share with colleagues as necessary and consider recording in the Bute Park issue log if appropriate. b) Ad hoc written (e-mail to [email protected] k mailbox) This mail box will be regularly monitored by the Bute Park Manager who will provide a response within corporate target deadlines. A record of the subject of the complaint should be logged in the Bute Park issue log. c) Formal written (e-mail to C2C or via Cllr)



The Bute Park Manager will be the primary point of contact for providing a response within corporate target deadlines. Feedback of a specialist nature (e.g. tree issues) will be provided by specialist officers as appropriate but the Bute Park Manager will coordinate as necessary and should be copied in to all outgoing responses. A record of the subject of the complaint should be logged in the Bute Park issue log. d) Social media (Twitter, Facebook etc) The Bute Park Manager, supported by other site-based colleagues will monitor the park's social network feeds and provide a response in as close to 'real time' as possible. A record of the subject of the complaint should be logged in the Bute Park issue log.

10.3 External information management In line with Council policy Bute Park is committed to producing all its

external information bilingually in English and in Welsh. Information for external audiences will be managed to fulfil the following

objectives:

• To attract people to the park – from the local area and further afield

• To enable people to travel to the site and physically access it • To enable people to move around the site with ease and enjoy

their time there • To enable people to understand and appreciate the various

features of interest and the stories behind them 10.4 Marketing The park will be marketed through regional and local marketing media.

The following paragraphs provide an introduction to the proposed marketing strategy for the park, which will be developed as one of the actions in the Development Plan.

10.4.1 Resident target audiences

• Local people from Cardiff within the county boundary – regular users or occasional day visitors

• Educational visitors - local schools and other educational users • Business visitors - organisations and companies who wish to

hire the education centre or undertake Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities within the park.

10.4.2 Resident audience marketing media



The various resident target audiences will be reached through the production and distribution of the following media:

• Free Leaflets & Specialist Publications: downloadable from

the park’s website and distributed at visitor orientation points and at parks events

• Parks Events Guide : published on the council’s website and distributed in libraries, leisure, community centres and at parks events

• The Capital Times – features and what’s on/events listings • Local Press – features and news articles generated by press

releases, ‘what’s on’ features’ school holiday ‘things to do’ listings etc.

• Council website – specific information on Bute Park features, facilities, events etc. with a link to the main external Bute Park website where the Bute Park Manager has full editorial control.

• Bute-Park.com website - detailed visitor information on Bute Park, education and outreach opportunities and latest news and events.

• Social media feeds - general information service and promotion of park events, education and outreach opportunities. Can be targeted to specific user groups as required.

10.4.3 Tourist target audiences

Tourists will provide an important stream of income to help support the ongoing maintenance and management of the park, so developing information to attract them and facilitate their needs will be very important.

Research undertaken for the Wales Tourist Board9 suggests that

people do not visit Wales only for its heritage, but are attracted by its general environment (landscape quality and tranquillity) and opportunities for city breaks. With its spectacular setting and connections to Cardiff Castle and the city centre, Bute Park embraces this broad spectrum of visitor appeal. It therefore has the potential to become an important attraction.

While Bute Park may not provide the primary reason for people visiting

Cardiff, it is likely to appeal to both the domestic and overseas tourists who wish to include a visit to the park as part of their holiday and short break itineraries. This potential will be unlocked through marketing at both a national and regional levels. The following sub-sets of tourist visitors are recognised:

• Visitors from the rest of South Wales – occasional day visitors

9 South Wales Industrial Heritage Action Plan Final Report to Wales Tourist Board and Partners, L&R Management Consultants, November 2001



• Visitors from elsewhere in Wales and the UK • Visitors from overseas

It is worth noting that because of its proximity to both the Millennium

Stadium and SWALEC Stadium Bute Park is a convenient destination for tourists visiting the city linked to major sporting events. Indeed visitor number can be seen to significantly spike when major sporting events are taking place within the vicinity of the park.

10.4.4 Tourist audience marketing media

The tourist audience for the park will be informed via various marketing and communication channels:

• Trip Advisor - Trip Advisor has become a 'go to' web resource

for prospective visitors and Bute Park enjoys a high star rating on the site. At the time of writing Bute Park was ranked 5th of 78 attractions in Cardiff and had 273 Excellent ratings, 107 Very good ratings, 14 average ratings, 2 poor ratings and 1 terrible rating. The Bute Park Manager will be responsible for utilising Trip Advisor to the best effect for the park in line with actions in the development plan

• Visit Wales – Since Sept 2014 Visit Wales have commissioned an external company to be responsible for tourist attraction data management. As part of that arrangement, regional data providers have been appointed and Cardiff’s data is currently managed by the company GuestLink. The Bute Park Manager will ensure the company has up-to-date copy and content so the park is adequately promoted on the Visit Wales website.

• Visit Cardiff – is run by Cardiff Council. There is a website www.visitcardiff.com and an ‘Essential Guide’ to the city, both of which feature Bute Park as a key attraction for visitors.

• Pear Media – this company is used to display and distribute the Bute Park General Visitor leaflet across selected tourist/visitor outlets including hotels, supermarkets, train stations and other attraction venues.

The Bute Park Manager is tasked with identifying and pursuing other information channels and networks to ensure the park receives maximum coverage within the resources available.

10.5 Interpretation Information provided through interpretation will determine how people

move around the site and experience it and is therefore a very important management tool. The following paragraphs indicate how



this will be approached as the amount of interpretative material continues to develop.

10.5.1 Interpretive media Interpretation will continue to be provided in a variety of media –

physical on-site information (panels etc.), printed leaflets and guides, information accessed through the internet, and potentially, other digital and audio media. Information will be provided in various levels of detail to in order to facilitate different ‘layers’ of intellectual access. For example leaflets will be provided at two levels:

1) General visitor information, high quality, simple, easily updated

and reproduced. Distributed from key orientation points within the park (see section 8.2.4 )

2) Specialist information leaflets available on request from on-site

staff, or from key orientation points within the park (see section 8.2.4). Some may also be downloaded from the Bute Park website. These will be provided at reproduction cost or free of charge when resources allow.

10.5.2 Parks style A layering approach will be applied across all forms of interpretation

media, printed, web-based and event based which will also incorporate the following principles:

• Simple, non-technical language and a direct, active style • A minimum of text • Colourful visual material (with consistent use of colour theme),

including photographs, illustrations, graphics and symbols • A co-ordinated approach to graphics to cover every aspect, from

signage, to badges, to web-site, to daily notices • Opportunities for interactivity • Links to other sites of interest

10.6 The Parks and Plants web site Specific specialist information about the plants in Bute Park and other

parks across Cardiff, can be found in the Council’s web-based plant database which can be accessed at:

http://apps.cardiff.gov.uk/plantguide/parksandplants.php



Please note, at the time of writing this database was temporarily unavailable due to reorganisation and re-launch of the Council's website. The resource will be reinstated as soon as possible.



11.0 Achieving the goal and measuring success 11.1 Cost of managing the park

Appendix 12 provides the outline maintenance and management budget/business plan for the park for the ten year period 2014-15 to 2012-25. This is based solely on the cost centre CP603 which was set up for the maintenance and management of Bute Park linked to the Heritage Lottery grant and the Council’s commitment to an increased maintenance budget for the park. This will maintain the new assets and support a site-based staff structure for the ten year period required as a condition of the grant. The business plan is reliant on an ear-marked reserve that was established by the council to support the park over the agreed period and in recognition that the park will not become a self-financing asset. Protection of this ear-marked reserve is critical to the success of the Bute Park business plan and this management plan. The outturn costs for the previous three years are also provided for reference. It is important to note that significant extra expenditure and budget related to Bute Park are held within other cost centres. For example expenditure and budget for horticultural maintenance, weed control, urban and community rangers, litter crew, the late-locking regime, event management, the arboriculture team and nursery operation are held elsewhere. Given these often represent city-wide operations and teams it is difficult to accurately split out the costs for Bute Park alone. The expenditure, income and budget for Blackweir Changing rooms is also currently held elsewhere. It may be an action for the Bute Park Manager to analyse these budgets further and update estimates related to Bute Park so a more accurate picture of expenditure, income and budget for Bute Park as a discrete entity can be made. Clearly erosion of these wider service area budgets in light of local government austerity (see section 2.10 ) will impact on standards of maintenance and management achievable in Bute Park and the Bute Park Manager will lead on mitigation measures and ensuring the best standards of maintenance and management are achieved within the available resources.

11.2 Quality and value assessment

The quality value assessment for Bute Park has not been significantly updated since 2005. During the life of the management plan an up-to-date analysis will be done to assess the impact of the interventions made since the start of the restoration project. The parks department hold a database that allows all the city parks to be plotted on a scatter



graph for comparison and this will be included with the plan when available.

11.3 Key performance indicators

A number of key performance indicators for the success of the management plan and success of the park have been identified. These will be monitored and reported annually by the Park Manager as an action within the development plan. This may then trigger the creation of new actions to address any issues/opportunities identified or celebrate success. The key performance indicators agreed for inclusion within the action are:

1. Income achieved from Education Centre – performance against business plan targets (see Appendix 12)

2. Income achieved from Bute Park Events Programme – performance against business plan targets (see Appendix 12)

3. Number of volunteer hours and equivalent monetary value

(based on HLF standards) of volunteer involvement in Bute Park – performance against service area target for Bute Park (£10k pa target for 2014/15 ). This will be recorded as per Table 2 below



Table 2 – Example of how volunteer time and equivalent monetary value will be recorded based on standards provided by HLF Skill level - unskilled Date Task Number

of hours per volunteer

Number of volunteers

Total number of volunteer hours

Equivalent number of volunteer days (total number of hrs / 7)

Equivalent monetary value per day (£50)

Equivalent monetary value

Sub-total unskilled X £X Skill level - skilled Date Task Number







Sub-total skilled X £X Skill level - professional Date Task Number







Sub-total professional X £X Grand Total pa X £X The result for 14/15 as at the end of Dec 14 is £11,803.57.

4. Usage numbers of the Bute Park Education Centre – performance against management targets. Use people counter data from centre as a simple proxy for performance measurement. Note these figures do not equate directly to user numbers. This KPI may need to be refined over time as is very crude at present e.g. does not distinguish between different user groups and does not record the people engaged with outside of the Education Centre.

a. Q1 Jan – March Target 5,000 (Q1 14 result 4,305) b. Q2 Apr – Jun Target 5,500 (Q2 14 result 6,258) c. Q3 July – Sept Target 5,500 (Q3 14 result 5,169) d. Q4 Oct – Dec Target 5,000 (Q4 13 result 4,629)

5. Training/Education hours undertaken at or from the Bute Park

Education Centre. The 15/16 year will establish the baseline as this information has not been formally recorded previously. A KPI target will then be determined.

6. Number of visits to Bute Park. Maintain or improve visitor numbers from 2014 levels: 2,043,966.



7. Customer satisfaction levels for Bute Park as recorded through:

a. User consultation surveys – performance against 2014 levels as recorded in August 2014 user web survey (Table 3 )

Table 3 Data table extracted from 2014 Bute Park user consultation survey Answer Choice % Responses Total Responses 1 – Very poor 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 5 1.25 4 6 3.44 11 7 11.56 37 8 29.69 95 9 34.06 109 10 – Excellent 20.00 64 Total 320 This is interpreted as an overall 96% satisfaction rating. It is possible satisfaction ratings may fall from this very high level achieved at the culmination of the restoration project. Therefore a reasonable tolerance needs to be considered when interpreting this data in the future.

b. Trip Advisor ratings – performance against 23rd Sept 2014 level (Table 4)

Table 4 Data extracted from Trip Advisor website 23rd Sept 2014 Answer Choice Total Responses Excellent 270 Very good 107 Average 14 Poor 2 Terrible 1 Total 394 Ranked 6 th out of 78 attractions in Cardiff 11.4 Customer consultation The Parks Service is committed to ongoing customer consultation. The

council will ensure a user survey is undertaken at least every two years for Bute Park. This will most likely utilise the Survey Monkey web survey tool which provides a cost-effective solution to user consultation for the council. The surveys will be promoted through online and social media channels and also through on-site posters. This worked well in 2014 and response numbers were good.



In addition to this the Park Manager will record the topic and number of

compliments and complaints received through formal and ‘ad hoc’ channels in the Bute Park issue log (see section 4.5 ). These will also be used to identify appropriate future actions in the development plan.

Results of the customer consultation undertaken during summer 2014

are provided in Appendices 3b, 6b, 7b and 9, and have been used to inform the preparation of this management plan. It is intended that ongoing customer feedback will assist in the process of determining future actions and priorities for restoration and development within the park.

11.5 Achievements and celebrating success

Achievement against development plan actions will be recorded in the updates provided by action owners. These are all collated within the Parks Service Management Plan database. The Park Manager will identify and celebrate success using positive achievements as a means of raising/maintaining the park’s profile and fostering staff and public engagement. Press releases, the www.bute-park.com website and social media channels will be used to celebrate and communicate success. Established communication channels within the council will also be used to keep staff across the wider service area and directorate informed of achievements and key developments.

Bute Park Maintenance & Management Plan 2015 - public

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